Shinigami The God of Death
by Snow Tigra
Summary: Finished. 1x2x1. After the wars Duo accidently wraps his car around a tree... and then Shinigami appears and makes him an offer he can't refuse. The chance to live again.
1.

Shinigami, the God of Death  
  
Part 1  
  
Author's Note: All the tenses are fixed now.  
  
It was after the war that I made the biggest mistake of my life.  
  
You know it figures. I live through the worst of a war: roughly two years of being shot at, beaten, blow up and knocked out only to die in a small car fire just because I swerved trying not to hit a cat. And it was a cute tabby cat too. It just figures that my luck would finally run out.  
  
I saw it, the cat, and I swerved, my jeep flying off the side of the road. Off the road, over the shoulder and straight into a tree, all in a matter of seconds. My forehead hit the dashboard and my chin hit the top of the steering wheel, hard. And the force of the car hitting the tree bent the car, trapping my right foot against the brake pedal. I can tell without moving that the driver's side door is shot to hell and even if I could get my leg free I wouldn't be able to get it open. Next time I am definitely not buying a jeep, because when you crash they crumple like aluminum foil.  
  
My head aches and I don't even dare move my neck, I'm too afraid to. My left arm is hanging limply on the steering wheel and I can't move it, in fact it's got that weird prickly feeling like it's falling asleep. Luckily it's still in one piece, even though it probably broken pretty badly.  
  
My right arm isn't so lucky. When my jeep crashed the windows shattered from the low tree branches and there are glass shards all around me. Some really big ones embedded themselves in my arm and even though I can't see it I know I'm bleeding pretty heavily. The blood is thick and warm on my arm and I can feel the seat cushion next to me getting damp as it soaks up the blood.   
  
My head hurts more now.  
  
Do most people do this? I'm sitting here trapped in a flaming car, which is wrapped around a thick evergreen tree, and I'm surveying my injuries as if I'm still on the battlefield. One by one, I'm gauging how bad my injuries are and weighing the situation to see if I'll actually live to fight tomorrow.  
  
Chances are I won't.  
  
So I'm just supposed to sit here and wait for that small flame at the front of the tree to hit my gas tank and send me shooting sky high to the next colony? Man, what a shitty way to die! I mean I would have rather died in a shameless self-sacrifice by self-destructing my gundam and single-handedly obliterating the main OZ base. Or maybe being a smart-ass right up to the end as OZ tried to torture information out of me and then finally just got so fed up they put a gun to my head and shot me. And I would have been grinning like the devil the entire time.  
  
Yup, now that would have been a great way to die. Standing up against OZ until the end and then going down in stubborn flames of glory. I would have been remembered as gundam pilot 02, the one who single handedly stopped the war. I'd get a huge ceremony and the other guys would be so sad. I can just see Heero, he'd be standing there completely silent and emotionless but his eyes would be tearing up just slightly…  
  
Hey, I'm about to die over here, I'm allowed to have one last dream right? Yeah, I know Heero would never cry over me but I can dream. He'd probably just grunt a good bye and walk off, no matter how I died. I may love the guy but sometimes he can be such an asshole!  
  
There's a popping sound up near the engine of the car and suddenly the hood is on fire, as is the engine. I can smell burning oil and rubber from the tires. God what a stench! Sweat is beading across my exposed skin as the metal around me steadily gets warmer. My throat hurts from breathing in the smoke and my eyes itch. I cough once and immediately regret it as my neck, stomach and head scream out in pain.  
  
I close my eyes and try to calm my rising panic. I don't want to die! I really don't want to die, not here, not now and definitely not like this!  
  
As my eyes fill with stinging tears I actually begin to pray. I haven't believed in god since the church burnt down with Father Maxwell and Sister Helen. Honestly I still don't really believe in god, but I believe in Shinigami, the god of death. I mean come on, I used his name throughout the war, of course I believe in him.  
  
There's another popping sound and the flames roar up around me. I can't help but give a small whimper as I smell burning gas. I don't want to die!!  
  
And then everything explodes around me in a flash of light. I don't even get time to scream.  
  
**  
  
There's a gentile ticking, someone chuckling next to me softly. My eyes are shut and my body feels light. I'm floating. Just off to my right I hear the chuckling again and something warm brushes my shoulder. A hand.  
  
"Duo, still getting into trouble I see."  
  
My eyes shoot open at the familiar voice and I gasp. I find myself floating darkness, a cloaked wraith floating in thin air next to me. He's sitting on thin air; his hidden chin propped on one hand. I frown.  
  
"Who?"  
  
The wraith chuckles once again. "And I actually thought you'd at least recognize my voice. Oh well." The wraith shrugs and reaches up, pulling down his hood to reveal a young face, about my age. He has bright green eyes and bushy red hair. He grins at me. "It's been a while."  
  
"Solo?!" I sit up and I swear my eyes must be the size of watermelons. Without warning I leap forward and wrap him in a huge bear hug. He laughs and hugs me back. "Man it's been ages!" I cry. "How have you been? I-" I stop and slowly pulled away. The grin on Solo's face wavering.  
  
"Something wrong?" he asks tilting his head.  
  
I frown deeply. "Am I dreaming? You died a long time ago."  
  
The grin drops off Solo's face. "Still getting into trouble and still smart as ever. I didn't think I'd be able to fool you."  
  
"What's going on Solo? Why are you here?"  
  
"You're dead Duo. You died."  
  
My eyes widen as I remember car crash. Jeez it seemed like it had happened ages ago. But no, it had happened. I glance down at my hands, flexing my finger slowly. My hands were perfectly fine, not a single scratch, but I know in my real body they were covered with cut and burns, that is they would be if the explosion hadn't blown me to pieces.  
  
"I'm dead," I whisper quietly.  
  
Solo nods solemnly.  
  
"Why are you here? Some guardian angel sent to lead me through the tunnel of light or something like that?"  
  
"Hardly," Solo laughs. "I'm here because you said you didn't want to die."  
  
My eyes narrow. "So not only does Shinigami rip away every thing and every one I've ever cared about one by one in my life but when I die he sends you to taunt me?" I growl and my hands ball into angry fists. "I swear, what'd I ever do to him? What reason does he have to make my life a living hell?!"  
  
Solo shakes his head. "Duo, you've got it all wrong. I wasn't sent here by him." Solo takes a deep breath and locks eyes with me.  
  
"I am Shinigami."  



	2. 

Part 2  
  
"I am Shinigami."  
  
I cough and just look at him, not sure what to say. Here in front of me sat my childhood friend, the one who'd raised me when I was an orphan, before the Maxwell church had taken me in. Solo was the whole reason I'd named myself Duo, pledging to live on in his place after he'd died. I'd never thought, in all my wildest dreams, that I'd ever see him again. But here he is, sitting right in front of me.  
  
Not only that but he's calling himself Shinigami, the god of death. My childhood best friend is Death. And somehow I not that surprised now that I think about it, after all, stranger things have happened. Right? I hug my knees tightly, feeling suddenly cold.  
  
"So why are you here, Solo?"  
  
"I'm here because you said you don't want to die. Why Duo? What do you have in life that is worth living for?"  
  
I open my mouth to answer but he quickly holds up his hand, silencing me.  
  
"Think first, old friend. I'm here to possibly give you another chance, but I honestly need to know, why do you want to live again?"  
  
I close my mouth and furrow my eyebrows in thought. One reason above all that I want to live? Why? I wasn't really needed, I mean I the wars were over and even my gundam had been destroyed. I certainly didn't live for my job at the Preventers; I mean who would really say that the whole reason they dragged their lazy ass out of bed every morning was to work in a stuffy office with broken air conditioning? Not me, that's for sure.  
  
The guys would miss me, sure, but I didn't really live for them. We were just good friends, pulled together by our mutual experiences during the wars. It was a solid friendship but none of us really lived for each other. Well… no I was wrong. I didn't live for Quatre, Trowa, Wufei, Hilde or Relena. But there was some one I did live for.  
  
"Heero," I say softly. "I want to live for Heero."  
  
At that Solo raised an eyebrow. "Him? But why? I don't understand. After seeing everything he's done to you… Duo he even shot at you! Why would you want to live for him?"  
  
I shrug. "It's hard to explain. No matter how much of an asshole he may be I can't imagine existing, or not existing for that matter, without him."  
  
Solo glances away, his eyes glazing over slightly as he stares off into the darkness. "But what's the point of loving someone when they don't return it?"  
  
"I can't explain it. Yeah sure he may be cold and distant most of the time but I would give up everything to be with him again, even if it was just to see him turn away from me and say good bye." I glance off to the darkness and smirk at that thought.  
  
"You love-sick fool," Solo scoffs.  
  
"Yep. And you know what? I don't care because I love him." I lean back on the thin air and stretch out, a lazy yet happy smile on my face.   
  
Solo turns to face me. "But does he love you?"  
  
I open one eye and look up at him. "Not sure."  
  
Solo nods slowly. "Does he know you?"  
  
I sit up and open my other eye. "What do you mean?"  
  
"I mean… would he be able to tell it was truly you?"  
  
I frown. "I've worked and lived with the guy for two years or so now. He knows who I am, heck he even remembered my name when we met the second time and used it as his own code name, which I still can't figure out. Why? What's this all about?"  
  
"Because there is a way for you to get another chance, Duo. But not many can do it."  
  
My eyes widen. "You mean I can live again? I can see Heero again?"  
  
He nods once more. "But it's all up to him. Do you have faith that he knows you?"  
  
I nod eagerly, not caring. I just want to see Heero again; I don't care what it takes!  
  
"Then give me your hand."  
  
I place my hand in Solo's and he pulls me forward, capturing my lips with his. My eyes widen in surprise as his arms wrap around me and he kisses me deeply. I start to resist but my body isn't responding and my head is beginning to feel hazy. I blink and struggle to hold my eyes open as Solo pulls away. With gentile hands he holds me against his chest.  
  
"What… what's happening?" I murmur softly as all feeling seeps out of my body.  
  
"Shh, don't worry Duo. Just sleep."  
  
My eyes drift shut and the darkness swallows me.  
  
**  
  
I blink open my eyes after that and find myself sitting in the passenger seat of my jeep, and it looks as good as new. I blink again and rub my eyes, not believing what I'm seeing! I am honestly sitting in my jeep and it is in perfect condition, not a single scratch on it, just like the day I bought it. The jeep is sitting on the shoulder of the road, just as if I'd pulled off to the side to take a break from a long drive. It was as if I'd never crashed into that tree.  
  
"What the hell?" I mutter quietly, and I get another shock. My voice… it isn't my voice!  
  
Instead my voice chuckles beside me and my head whirls in confusion. Turning my head to face the driver's side seat I give a small cry of surprise and horror. Sitting beside me is… me! It's me, an exact replica right down to the violet eyes and braided hair. The other me chuckles again, his eyes bright with laughter.  
  
"Don't look so surprised, Duo. Haven't you ever seen your own reflection in the mirror before?"  
  
"What the hell is going on?!" I cry out in frustration.  
  
The other Duo just simply gestures toward the jeep's rearview mirror.  
  
I suppress a shudder and glance up at the mirror to find myself staring into a reflection of emerald green eyes and bushy red hair. "No way…" I murmur quietly, confirming my suspicions. I not only look like Solo but I am speaking in his voice. "We switched bodies?"  
  
"Well, no, not exactly. See Shinigami doesn't really have a body, he just exists. We, more of, changed consciousness. I got your body and you got, well, my position."  
  
I growl and lunge for myself, or him, in anger. Arg, this is confusing! But my fist meets with nothing; it only goes through his head as if nothing was there. I pull my hand back and just stare at it in wonder. As an experiment I try to touch the dashboard but once again my hand goes right through it, I turn back to Solo, who is in my body, and glare.  
  
"What did you do to me?" I demand.  
  
"You are now Shinigami, the god of death. And I am Duo Maxwell." He tugs on the priest's outfit he's wearing to emphasize his point.  
  
My eyes narrow. "You bastard," I hiss. "You know this isn't what I meant!"  
  
"Hey! Hey, hold on a second! I haven't finished explaining yet. Now hold tight and let me explain this little game."  
  
I don't like how he said the word 'game' but I force myself to calm down. Better to let him explain and then I'd really have a reason to be pissed.  
  
"See, here's how this works. I'm you, but only for a little bit. Heero has one week to discover that I'm not really you, then you get your body and your life back."  
  
"And if he doesn't?" I growl.  
  
Solo shrugs. "Then you remain Shinigami, until Heero dies and you can make him the same offer. How do you think I became Shinigami?" Solo's eyes narrow significantly. "When I died he made me the same offer, and it all depended on you. You had a week to discover that I hadn't really died and then I would have had my life back. But no, you just walked away and went to live at that church, completely forgetting about me!"  
  
"I… I didn't forget about you!" I protest, but I couldn't help but feel guilty. "Solo, you died in my arms, remember? Of course I thought you were dead!"  
  
He just glares at me angrily. 'But you saw me, didn't you?!" He balls his hands into fists and spits at me angrily. "You saw me after that and you never even considered the possibili-"  
  
"You were dead!" I counter loudly. "You died in my arms and yes, I did see you but I knew you were dead, that it couldn't be you. I just thought I was going crazy because of how much I missed you."  
  
"That's no excuse!"  
  
I flinch and look away from him, my voice dropping to a quiet whisper. "Then you tell me what is an excuse. I was seven years old, I thought I was going crazy. I had to concentrate on surviving, on finding food and money, I couldn't let myself think you were still alive. I had to concentrate on living myself." I close my eyes and try to push away the memories, but he's right. I vividly remember seeing him the week after he died. At first it had really scared me and I thought he was haunting me. To a seven-year-old the thought of being haunted was terrifying and I spent most of the nights crying myself to sleep because I was so scared.  
  
After a few days of being scared I decided I'd just been seeing things, so I started ignoring him every time I saw him smiling at me. Then, he'd just disappeared. At the time it had just confirmed my suspicions that I'd just imagined it. But now…   
  
"I'm sorry, I didn't know." I whisper miserably.  
  
"That's not good enough!" he yells back. "Do you know what it's like to be trapped as Shinigami?! I could see the entire world, but never be a part of it. I could see everyone but I couldn't touch anyone and they couldn't see me. I couldn't speak to them, I just had to sit there and watch, no one even knew I was there! Its pure torture Duo, it hurts like hell! And it hurt even worse to watch your life, to watch you living so happily and me, I couldn't do a damn thing!"  
  
"Solo, I… I don't know what to say. I didn't know."  
  
For a moment his anger seems to melt away and he just looks at me, a small smirk on his face. "Well," he says in a soft voice. "You'll know now, won't you?"  
  
I swallow, a lump growing in my throat. It suddenly dawns on me that I am completely helpless and he could do whatever he wanted to.  
  
Solo just grins. "It's all up to Heero now. But see, unlike last time, I have the advantage. They don't know you're dead and I've spent the last eight or so years watching you. I know everything about you, know how to be you in every situation. I know how to be you without flaw. There is just no way he'll figure it out, especially not in a week. This time I'll win and you'll be trapped."  
  
"Solo! Don't do this!"  
  
"It's already done, just sit back and enjoy the ride. Clocks ticking, Duo. Or should I call you Shinigami?" He chuckles and turns the key in the jeep, starting the engine. As he presses on the gas he reaches over and gives me a shove, pushing me out through the passenger side door.  
  
I tumble onto the side of the road and just sit there in shock, tangled in the black cloak. I just stare as he drives away back toward the house I shared with the guys. I had one week, one week of pure torture to watch Heero try and figure out that that Duo wasn't me. And if he didn't I'd be stuck in this form until he died. It was a pretty hopeless situation except for one small factor.  
  
Not only could Solo see me, but he could also touch me. There just had to be some way to use that to my advantage  



	3. Monday Morning

Part 3  
Monday Morning  
  
I hate Mondays.  
  
Or at least, when I was alive I used to hate them, now it seems like a blessing. Today is Monday, that means I have until Saturday for Heero to figure out that that Duo he is seeing isn't me. That's a whole six days for him to figure it out. Heero's the perfect soldier, so he should be able to figure this all out, right?   
  
I can't help but sigh softly at that thought as I hear the sounds of the guys waking up in the house around me. Oh yeah, blind hope against blind hope. Heero doesn't even have any reason to think that I should be dead, I mean as far as he's concerned Solo up there, who is currently sleeping in MY bed, is the real Duo. Heero has no reason to believe otherwise. I growl in frustration and attempt to slam my fist into the kitchen table, but instead it goes right through the dark wood and I stumble forward, falling to the ground without a single sound. Damn being dead sucks, you can't even vent your anger on inanimate objects!  
  
It had taken me most of the night to walk home from where the car had crashed and where Solo had left me on the side of the road. And on the way home I'd gone over every single possibility I could think of, and still I wasn't any better off from where I started. The whole situation is so completely tipped in Solo's favor and I don't stand a chance. I know that if I get out of this and Heero figures it out it will be nothing short of a miracle… but then again miracles are kinda what us Gundam Pilots were known for in the wars right? I mean by all rights we should have all died a long time ago, but instead we were all alive… err well, ok so they were all alive and I was on the brink of death if not dead already, but lets not quibble with details.  
  
I'm standing in the kitchen mulling over my thoughts and waited for the guys to come down to breakfast. We always eat breakfast together before work at the Preventers, so soon would be my first chance at getting them all to notice to me. Or at least try to. Yoshi! Ok, keep your chin up Duo; here's your chance.  
  
Trowa and Wufei are the first to enter the kitchen, as usual, and they enter completely silent, each heading for their breakfast food of choice. Wufei immediately starts up a pot of his morning tea while Trowa turns on the stove and grabs a few eggs. I've always admired how he can walk around the kitchen and never drop the eggs, heck he could probably stand on his head and juggle them while cooking an omelet with his toes thanks to his time with the circus. Normally, had I been in the room any other morning, I would have been yawning and watching through sleepy eyes as he prepared eggs for us, but not today. As soon as he closes that fridge door I walk right over and try my darndest to knock those eggs right out of his hand.  
  
Well, let's just say that Lady Luck does not like me today. What Solo said is certainly true; I can't touch a single thing. I wave my hand through Trowa's and the eggs at least a million times but he doesn't respond, not once. Oh this is sooooo frustrating!   
  
So instead I turn my attention to Wufei, who is humming very softly to himself as he rummages through the drawer full of tea bags, trying to decide on a flavor for the morning.  
  
"WUFEI!" I scream loudly in his ear. Nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Taking a deep breath I scream again, right into his ear with my hands cupped around my mouth, and once again the black haired teen does nothing.  
  
Growling with frustration I turn away from him and glance back to Trowa, who is now scrambling the eggs and popping toast in the toaster. It's strange when you're in this form, because I realize that despite seeing Trowa's cooking, which is always good, I'm not hungry. I mean I want to eat the food, it looks so good, but my stomach isn't grumbling, as it should be. I guess that's what happens when you don't have a real stomach to fill. But to never eat again? Oh what a horrible fate!  
  
Yep, that's me all right. Here I am with only six days to make the guys realize that I'm not really me and I'm still cracking jokes to myself. If the guys knew they'd probably think it hadn't quite sunk in yet, but that isn't right. I fully realize what is going on here, and how hopeless my situation is. But in truth cracking jokes is the only way I hold on to my fragile sanity, it's the only defense I have left against a world that has just recently decided to royally kick me in the ass.  
  
Heero and Solo enter the kitchen next, Solo right behind Heero. Heero enters and immediately takes his place at the kitchen table, on the way snatching a plain piece of toast from the toaster to munch on. He's never been one to add things like butter or jelly or salt and pepper to his food. I always thought it was part of his training, you know some kind of message pounded into his head that during a war any food was better then no food. So instead of adding stuff to his food he always eats it plain. I swear the guy must have taste buds of steel, either that or he doesn't have any at all.  
  
I'm about to turn all my attention to Heero but Solo catches my eye instead. He enters the kitchen and immediately his eyes lock on me, making it perfectly clear that he can see me and no one else can. Man, he just had to rub it in like that didn't he?   
  
"You bastard," I hiss angrily. The fact that he was once one of my childhood friends doesn't matter to me one bit at the moment and all I can think about is he did this to me and he's currently stealing my life away. What he's doing is completely unforgivable; no matter what angle you look at the situation from.  
  
Solo simply flashes a smirk in my direction, at my comment, and takes a seat next to Heero, eyeing Trowa eagerly for his food.  
  
"Come on Trowa, can't you cook a little bit faster?"  
  
My mouth drops open at his comment and I freeze. Solo wasn't kidding when he said he'd been watching me, I say those exact words practically every single morning. And practically every morning Trowa replies with…  
  
"Almost done."  
  
Solo drops back into the chair with an exaggerated sigh and I can't help but stare at him. It's like some strange kind of out-of-body experience to see myself going through the motions I do every morning, but yet I'm really standing off to the side just watching. Everything is so surreal my head should be spinning.   
  
Wufei finishes warming up the water for the tea and pours three glasses, one for himself, Trowa and Heero, and sets them at the table. As he sits down to lightly sip his tea I see Quatre standing at the kitchen doorway, still dressed in his robes and looking quite pale.  
  
Trowa looks up at him in surprise, the concern plain on his face. It's moments like these that those two look so cute. They look so much like a married couple some times I just want to melt at the cuteness, and part of me has always wished that Heero and I had the relationship those two have.. "Something wrong, Little One?"  
  
Quatre nods. "I'm not feeling well, I think I'm going to spend the day in bed."  
  
Trowa dishes up what should have been my eggs and leaves them on the counter walking over to Quatre. Without a word he places the back of his hand against the blond pilot's forehead, checking his temperature. Their eyes meet for a moment and they just stare at each other. They always do that. They always have moments of completely silent conversations, just long minutes of staring into each others' eyes and not saying a single word. Given some of the strange mind stuff I've seen Quatre do over the time I've known him I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if he one day revealed to us he and Trowa spoke telepathically. Nope, I wouldn't be surprised at all. Instead I'd simply lean back against the wall and grin, saying to them all that I'd known all along.  
  
Leaning forward Trowa places a soft kiss on Quatre's forehead and watches the boy leave the kitchen, then he turns back to the guys at the table. Munching on the last remaining piece of toast (which like Heero's isn't buttered) he brings over what should have been my eggs to Solo. I don't care if I wasn't really feel hungry at the moment, but seeing him eat what should have been my breakfast… arg!  
  
Heero stands up from the table, done with his meager breakfast. "We're going to be late," he says flatly as he eyes Solo gobbling up the eggs.  
  
"You say that every morning," Solo says between mouthfuls. "And yet we always get there on time." Solo quickly shoves the last bite in his mouth and washes it down with a glass of milk before dumping his plate in the sink. "See? All ready to go."  
  
"Hn." Heero grunts, as usual, and grabs his jacket, heading for the car.  
  
Heero's heading for the car… they're all going to work… It suddenly occurs to me that I need to get in that car with them or I'll be stuck at home to mope around all day and waste my time until they got home. Staying here and dwelling on my shitty fate wouldn't help me one bit, so I follow them out the door and pile into the car with them.   
  
One would think that since I couldn't touch other objects I would actually sink into the center of the earth, never to be seen or heard of again. But nope, at least I'm lucky on that part. No, instead it appears that I can touch things, with my feet if I step on them. Basically it appears that I can step into cars and sit down in the seat, and probably even climb stairs, but I still can't touch objects. Don't ask me, I certainly can't explain it. And, understandably, it's the last thing on my mind at the moment.  
  
I sit down in the car, in the front seat next to Heero, only to find Solo coming in after me. With a quick move of his arm he grabs my arm and shoves me backwards, causing me to fall through the car and land on the garage floor as Heero starts the engine. Immediately I jump to my feet and try to jump back into the car, only to be knocked back out by a hard punch from Solo. I land on the garage floor and push myself to my feet, but I can't catch up to them now. Instead I step out of the garage and stand in the front yard, watching the car disappear down the street, cursing to myself.  
  
"Damn it!" I yell out, well aware that no one can actually hear me so I can swear all I want. As a result some very nice and colorful words come from my mouth. Let's just say I am thoroughly pissed.  
  
Yet, someone does hear me, or rather some thing. As I am yelling at the disappearing car a stray cat walks by and stops to sit right near my feet. I pause in my yelling and look down to see the cat cock its head to the side and give a soft meow.  
  
"You can see me?" I ask quietly. A cat can see me?! That's almost too good to be true! If a cat can see me then maybe there's a chance…  
  
The cat answers me by standing up and attempting to rub itself against my leg, but when it walks right through me it stops and just looks at me.  
  
"You can't touch me, but you can see me!" I cry out happily. It takes all my restraint to hold in my happiness. A cat can see me, that means animals can see me… shit now if only we had a dog in the house.  
  
With a sigh of defeat I drop down to sitting on the grass, watching the cat silently.  
  
"It figures," I murmur angrily. "I knew I should have tried harder to convince the guys to let me get a dog after the war but no… I had to listen to what Heero said and just go alone with his 'glare-of-death' routine. Like he would have killed me for getting a dog anyway."  
  
So I sat there. I sat in the front lawn watching the day pass by and mulling over my thoughts in my head. The cat didn't stay long, and away with it went my hopes of using that particular ace I'd discovered. So instead I just sat in the front lawn, moping and waiting for the guys to get home from work.  
  
  
  



	4. Monday Night

Part 4  
Monday Night  
  
It seemed like an eternity before the guys got home and by the time they did my energy for the situation was completely restored. I'd managed to be depressed and then loop around and completely psych myself up by the time they got back. When they walked through that front door I was all ready to try again, and completely convinced that this time I would get their attention. I just had to! Heh, I didn't really have a choice in the matter.  
  
Quatre stayed in his room all day and the few times I checked on him he lay in bed shivering and curled into a small ball. That's where I was when they got home, standing just inside his door and watching him with a worried look. Whatever was making him sick was bad, I'd never seen him like this before.  
  
He lay in bed, curled tightly. His eyes were closed and as far as I could tell he was sleeping but he looked like he was in the middle of some horrible nightmare that was scaring the heck out of him. He just kept turning over in bed and shivering, as if he were really cold. If I could have I would have walked over and offered some help or something, I dunno… maybe tucked the quilts in around him, or just sat there running my hand over his head in a calming gesture until Trowa got home to comfort him. But you know? Not really existing sucks, especially when you can't help a friend in need. I hate it.  
  
As I am standing there Trowa enters and I jump away from the door, suddenly feeling guilty or something like that. I try to mutter out an excuse but he doesn't notice me and it hits me once again that he can't see me. Damn, I can't even apologize for feeling stupid can I?  
  
Despite my current predicament I'm worried about Quatre, so I stay in the room by the door, ready to leave at any time that they look like they need privacy. Still, I have to stay for a little while, just to check on Quatre. He just seems more important right now, especially when I can't do a damn thing to help him and I can't even ask him what's going on.  
  
Trowa sits down at the edge of his bed and gently wakes him, a soft look in his eyes. I watch Quatre blink his eyes open and for a moment they seem to settle on me and he shivers. Did he actually look at me? I take a step forward and wave my arms at him in astonishment but his eyes just move back toward Trowa and he gives a small smile. Naw, he couldn't have seen me. I was just dreaming, right? That was just far too much to hope for right now. Besides, if he'd seen me he would have said something right? Either to me or Trowa, I'm sure of it.  
  
"How are you feeling, Little One?" Trowa asks.  
  
"Better… but tired." Quatre rolls over on his side and snuggles up against Trowa, wrapping his arms around the French boy's waist.   
  
I grin, they are so cute together! And this is about this time that I bow out. The two look ready to share an intimate moment and it would just be mean if I stayed and watched. I have no right, even if they can't see me or hear me, it still isn't right. Besides, they would give me and Heero the same privacy, assuming we actually had a relationship to be private in, so I owed it to them. With a grin I bow out of the room, stepping through the door, and walk down the stairs.  
  
All right, operation Monday night is about to begin! Here I go! And damn it I'm going to make this work! They will notice me or… or…  
  
Or I'll try again tomorrow.  
  
I arrive downstairs to find the house swept up in the norms. Solo is sitting on the couch, or rather he looks like he just collapsed onto it, and has the TV remote, flipping through channels aimlessly as he decides what to watch. Same thing I would have done when I got home had it been me (like it was supposed to be!). Either I'd come home and flip through channels for a few hours or I'd pester Heero at his ever annoying laptop. Apparently Solo had decided it was a TV night, which was fine with me, not that it really mattered. Though I have this distinct feeling he was avoiding Heero and therefore avoiding suspicion. That bastard! How long had he been planning this?!  
  
Wufei enters the room in a robe, with towel in hand, and pauses, his eyes flickering from Heero to Solo as he towels dry his hair. He usually takes a shower after work and then spends the rest of the night walking around the house in a light silk robe with this really cool looking black dragon embroidered down the back. That robe looks real expensive, but he never seems to care. I swear if I owned the thing I would hardly ever wear it, and I certainly wouldn't let my wet hair fall over it, in fear that somehow the water would hurt the fine craftsmanship.   
  
His dark eyes settle on Solo and he walks over to the couch, almost walking right through me, had I not stepped out of the way. Turning I watch the two.  
  
"Maxwell, give the TV some peace. You could at least stop on a channel and see what they are showing before flipping to the next."  
  
Solo flips through the channels a little more rapidly and then leans back to grin up at Wufei's scowl. "Something you want to watch?"  
  
Wufei rolls his eyes and shakes his head. Glancing to Heero he pulls the towel from his hair and tosses it across his shoulder. "I swear, why do I even try?"  
  
Heero doesn't respond, instead he just sits at the desk, his eyes completely intent on the laptop screen. Wufei exits the room and I walk over to Heero, reaching forward and waving my hands right next to his face, almost close enough to touch (if I could).   
  
Sometimes it infuriates me so much! Whenever Heero is with his laptop he's oblivious to the world, and I mean the whole world. Which means he certainly didn't notice me waving my hands in front of his face. Still, it's nice to know that if I do end up being stuck like this I can just pretend he's decided to concentrate on his laptop for eternity, which is why he doesn't notice me. Yeah, right, I must really be starting to go insane from the frustration, and it's only Monday night!  
  
With a sign of said frustration I walk over to the couch and practically sit down on top of Solo, or attempt to. Instead I fall right through him and land on the floor. I imagine it would have looked really strange had anyone been able to see me, me just appearing out of the couch where Solo's lap would have been. Actually, when you think about it that way it is pretty disgusting. Making a face at that thought I jump up quickly and whirl around to face him.  
  
"Are you crazy?!" Solo mutters before he could stop himself.  
  
I know my eyes lit up at that, because for that moment the room seemed to go silent. Solo froze immediately as he said the words and I couldn't help but grin. Glancing over Solo's shoulder I look to Heero, but he didn't respond. My eyes narrow and I'm practically glaring at him as he sits at his small desk typing on his laptop. Growling in frustration I stalk over and take a few swipes at him, swipes that would have been really nasty punches had I been able to touch him.  
  
"Damn you!" I yell at him pointlessly. "Pay attention when he messes up and doesn't act like me!"  
  
Oh man, he can be such a jerk sometimes! Why the hell hadn't he noticed? I know for a fact that the great Heero Yuy has ears like a hawk, so why the hell didn't he respond to what Solo had said? Was he deaf? Or did he actually not hear it?! Either way he was really starting to piss me off!  
  
Dinner goes by without much to happen. Trowa brings food up to Quatre and then the rest of the guys eat in silence, with the exception of Solo who jabbers enough to make up for the rest of them, just like I would have. So, since no one can see me anyway, I take the entire duration of dinner to make faces at each of them and dance through the table like some crazy fool.   
  
Heh, I must really look like a fool to Solo as I'm dancing around in the center of the table, randomly kicking at people's heads and watching my foot go right through their faces without so much as causing them to sneeze. Well, being that I can't get the rest of the guys to notice me I might as well have my fun, right?  
  
Turning around so my back is to Solo I pull down my pants and moon him for a mere minute, then whirl around and grin directly in his face. I am delighted to see that he coughs in the middle of his sentence and almost chokes on his mouth full of food.  
  
"Hah, got you," I snicker out.  
  
He recovers quite quickly, drawing almost no response from the guys save for Wufei raising an eyebrow at him in question. Solo shrugs and takes a drink of his can of juice. "Nothing, just swallowed too fast."  
  
"Serves you right," Wufei mutters.  
  
"You realize that since you're the only one who can see and hear me I'm going to get my money's worth." I say, leaning forward and placing my face right in front of his. He doesn't respond so I get an idea. I lean forward even farther and pretend to kiss him on the lips, as I fall through his body like it were made of mist. I know he responded to that one because as I turn around I see Trowa stop eating and just look at Solo in confusion.  
  
Solo quickly tries to shrug it off. "I think I'm going to head to bed, night all."  
  
At that Heero actually tosses him a look of question as well. I take a moment to dance around happily and cheer. "So early?" Heero comments in a flat voice.  
  
"Yeah, I feel tired all of a sudden, real strange. Who knows, maybe I'm catching whatever Quatre has." With those words Solo dumps his plate and leaves the room, me closely behind. As he climbs the stairs I bound up happily behind him.  
  
"You're getting ready for bed? Oh please, that was the lamest thing I've ever heard. They know for a fact that I would never go to bed this early."  
  
"Shut up," he grumbles under his breath.  
  
I only grin, from ear to ear. "You realize, of course that you still aren't me, not by a long shot. However just for tonight I'm willing to give you a free lesson. The first lesson is that the REAL Duo Maxwell never goes to bed this early! And you know what that means? It means I'm not going to let you get any sleep at all tonight!"  
  
"Oh really?" He counters as he shuts the door and strips down to his boxers, or rather my boxers that he is wearing!  
  
"Yep!" I nod happily. "Lesson one begins right now, with every single annoying song I've ever heard!"  
  
Solo pretends to ignore me and crawls into my bed, curling up under the covers.  
  
I have to say there is one advantage to being ghost like, you don't need sleep. As a result I proceeded to jump up and down through him and the bed for the next eight hours, singing every song I could think of in my worst voice. I was rewarded with him tossing and turning and moaning all night. He even tried to throw a few pillows at me around 2 in the morning or so, and you can imagine how well that worked.  
  
Lets just say that for being such a horrible day and such a horrible situation Monday night was the best night of my life. It was truly time for me to put my best skills of annoyance to use, because if I couldn't make Heero and the guys notice me than I was damn well going to make this the worst week of Solo's life.  
  



	5. Tuesday Morning

Part 5  
Tuesday Morning  
  
Well, there is one thing to say about actually putting an effort to annoying people, you certainly lose time. I concentrated all my energy on annoying Solo that I completely forgot that the next morning was Tuesday and a work day. Thanks to me Solo didn't get a wink of sleep, and he was very very grumpy when my alarm went off the next morning.  
  
Groaning he pulls himself out of bed and stumbles over toward the bathroom to take a shower. I follow, a wide grin on my face. As soon as he steps into the bathroom he whirls on me and glares sleepily.  
  
"Have you no modesty?" He hisses angrily.  
  
I snicker and shake my head. "What's your problem? I've seen my own body before, remember? I'd think if you were that worried about it you would avoid mirrors."  
  
Something flickers across Solo's face but he quickly shrugs it away. That is strange, what's so big about looking in a mirror and why did his face flash like that? Was there something I should know, or should realize? Racking my head I went over all the ghost stories I could think of but none of them had anything to do with mirrors, so I have no idea whatsoever what bugged him so much about that. Oh well. I suppose I'll just have to file it away for later use and information.  
  
He took forever in the shower and I suppose I made it worse since I kept sticking my face in through the shower door and yelling at him, singing in the shower as I was usually apt to do. I finally stop when he takes a swing at my face and misses by a mere centimeter. By the time he got out the other guys were ready to go. As soon as stepped out of the shower he went about pulling on his clothes and then turns to me. "You kept me up all night," he growls angrily.  
  
I can only grin. "You're the idiot who can see me, of course I'm going to make your life a living hell for putting me like this. I want my body and my life back!"  
  
A smile curves across Solo's face. "I could accuse you of the same thing, but I don't have time at the moment. I have to get to work." He steps forward and catches me completely by surprise, his fist flying right for my stomach.  
  
When one is a ghost and can't touch anything the shock of being touched can blow your mind. In a way it's kind of reassuring to feel something else touch you, even if that something else is a hard fist right in your gut causing you to double over and cough loudly in pain. Yeah, well I guess nothing is perfect. In any case the punch hit me square in the stomach and my head suddenly began to spin as I hear him race down the stairs and jump into the car. I ignore him, instead electing to let myself fall to the floor until the air comes back into my lungs. Damn, can he ever punch! I can't help but grin at that thought, since it was Solo after all who taught me my mean right hook. Yeah, that one, the one that failed to knock Heero out on the satellite during the Marimeia Wars, but lets not get technical.  
  
I lay there on the floor of my room, gasping heavily and clutching my stomach until I'm able to breathe again and stand. You'd think that since I was dead and didn't technically have a body I wouldn't be able to feel something like a punch or have these kind of after effects. Heh, you'd think. And you'd think wrong.  
  
After recovering I left the room in a general mope and headed downstairs to waste the day away. Once again I had managed to miss the ride to the office so I was stuck here in boredom, and man did the time ever crawl.  
  
I walk into the office and drop into one of the chairs with a deep sigh, just what was I supposed to do for an entire 'nother day? I could plan ways to get them to notice me, but since none of the other times had worked I would have to come up with a better strategy then bouncing around and making strange faces right in front of their faces. I try to slam my fist into the desk in frustration but end up spinning around and tumbling very ungracefully to the floor when my fist goes right through the wood. So instead I just growl and spit in the desk's general direction.   
  
Dammit, even my spit phases through the furniture!  
  
"H-hello?"  
  
I turn around in surprise to find Quatre standing at the doorway of the office dressed in a light blue bathrobe. My mouth drops open in shock and I wave my hands in front of me. "Quatre?! Can you see me?"  
  
He gains a confused expression and steps into the room, looking around and right past me. Damn, he can't see me… yet…  
  
"Is someone there?" he whispers quietly.  
  
"Yeah, right here in front of you, but you can't see me, so how the heck am I supposed to tell you I'm standing here? Dang, now I know what those spirits on the other sides of those goofy talk show seances feel like. Hey Quatre!" I snap my fingers right in front of his face and he takes a step back in surprise, but his eyes still don't focus on me.  
  
"Oh come on!" I yell at no one in particular. "You're just teasing me aren't you? Arg! Quatre!" In a desperate attempt I step forward and try to touch him. He apparently feels something because he jerks back at my touch and retreats back to the door of the room, looking scared, yet his eyes settle on the place where he'd been standing when I touched him. His eyes settle on me who is still standing there.  
  
I can touch him? I definitely felt his shoulder, that was for sure. But my hand also went through his skin, like everything else. It was just that I could feel my hand moving through him, so maybe I could actually touch Quatre… or maybe even…  
  
Stepping forward carefully I stand right in front of him. Taking a deep breath I step forward, in to his body.  
  
It is a strange feeling being in someone else's body that's for sure. I almost lost myself. I mean that I suddenly felt like Quatre. I can see what he sees, feel what he feels and know what he's thinking. As I step into him his entire body starts to shake as if he's in a seizure and his emotions and feelings bombard me all at once.   
  
Strange.  
Voices.  
Spirit.  
Sad.  
Scared.  
Help.  
GET OUT!  
  
The mental burst of that last thought sends me flying across the room and I land a few feet away from the back wall. Had I been solid the force of the throw more then likely would have broken something, but it didn't. Instead I just landed hard on the floor and winced.   
  
Quatre stood at the doorway, using the doorframe to prop himself up as his knees shake and his body quivers. His face is covered with sweat and he's breathing heavily as he looks right at me. I watch him take a deep breath to steady himself then he turns and races away from the office room. I hear his feet stamping up the stairs in a frenzied run and the door to his room slams shut.  
  
Standing up I follow quietly. He felt me, and for one moment I was in his body, and I have this feeling that if I had managed to stay in longer I could have spoken with his voice or some crazy thing like that. But I didn't want to.  
  
I reached his door and slowly began to step through it, crossing into his room. I found my friend sitting on his bed, hugging his knees and rocking back and forth as tears slowly moved down his face. As soon as I entered the room he looked straight at me and just sat there, crying and watching me.  
  
"Please… leave," he whispers softly.  
  
"Quatre I… shit I'm sorry man, I didn't mean to hurt you like that. I just… I don't know what else to do."  
  
But he doesn't respond. He probably still can't hear me, only feel when I'm around. So, letting my shoulders sag in defeat, I leave the room and go down to the living room where I lay down on the couch.  
  
Chalk one up for me. I'd discovered a way to get the guys to notice me, but I knew I wouldn't ever do it again. The look on Quatre's face… to see him act so much like a helpless child after I tried to step into his body… I can't do that to him again. Even if it means I have to stay like this for the next million years I won't do it again. I care for him and the other pilots too much to hurt them like that again. So I'd actually gained nothing, I'd only managed to scare one of my best friends shitless and practically give him a heart attack.  
  
I sigh and close my eyes as I lay on the couch. And that's where I stay, moping and thinking until the guys come home. All the while this huge knot is building in my stomach, I want to go check on Quatre, make sure I didn't hurt him. But I had scared him, and it would only make things worse unless I just left him alone right now. So instead I'd just have to wait and hope Trowa could help him with he got home.  
  
I hate being a ghost. Oh god, I never meant to hurt him like that.  



	6. Tuesday Night

Part 6  
Tuesday Night  
  
It seemed to take the guys forever to get home and by the time they did I still hadn't moved. The door opened and, had they been able to see me, they would have found me on the couch, just laying there quietly in my own world. The whole situation about what had happened with Quatre is still fresh in my mind, the guilt is still slowly eating away at me.  
  
As the door opens I glance toward them, through the kitchen, and watch them walk off to do their various things. Solo's eyes flicker to me and a smile lights across his face as he sees the look of utter depression on my face.  
  
"Yeah, you go ahead and laugh it up, asshole." I growl at him darkly. He merely gives a small shrug and makes a show of walking up to my room, then returns a minute later blasting MY music in MY headphones. I sit up and glare at him, even though I know he isn't paying any attention to me anymore.  
  
Taking a deep breath I notice Trowa move around the house in question and finally head up to Quatre's room. Considering how Quatre reacted to being in the same room as me… I decide to let the unibang comfort him, considering there is nothing I can really add to help, other than apologizing a thousand times in a voice I know they can't hear.  
  
Beyond me Heero takes his seat at his laptop and flicks it on, going to whatever program he spends all his time on. Wufei leaves the room and heads for the small office, presumably to look for a book.  
  
So what now? Given the situation with Quatre I'm not very enthusiastic about trying to catch the guys' attention this time. I'm afraid, I'll admit that. I'm afraid that what I did to Quatre… I'm afraid I'll do it to the other guys. The thought of seeing Trowa or Wufei as shaken as Quatre was is definitely not a pleasant one. And what about Heero? What would I do if my touch caused him to act like Quatre? My god, if I caused him to crumble to the floor like a lost child I know I would never forgive myself!   
  
So instead I elect to just sit on the couch and sulk. Yes, that's me. I never sulk, least not in open spaces like this. I'm the one who's supposed to be smiling; I'm the one who's supposed to be the wise ass. I'm the one who's supposed to make all the others laugh, or at least make Heero call me a baka. I'm not supposed to sulk and be all depressed, it is so out of character for me! Duo Maxwell doesn't sulk.  
  
Well, Duo Maxwell doesn't cry either, but right now it seems damn tempting. I can vaguely remember as a child, way far back, in the church-turned-orphanage how some of the kids would cry to get Father Maxwell's or Sister Helen's attention. I never did. But I remember that most of the time, for those kids it worked. It is strange how your mind works when you're in a totally hopeless situation; you get to the point where you're willing to try anything. Oh man… if crying right now would get their attention and make them realize that Solo wasn't me I would happily ball my eyes out until I flooded the house and half the neighborhood.   
  
And if Wufei made a comment about me being weak for it I'd pound him into the ground.  
  
Naw, in actuality I'd probably hug him tightly, cause him to yell at me again, and then actually thank him for yelling at me. Because in order for Wufei to yell at me he'd have to see me, and that would mean that everything would be back to normal.  
  
Normal…  
  
I used to think normal was boring. Well, one thing is for sure, normal will never seem boring again. Well, it won't if it ever becomes normal again. Err… yeah, that is what I mean. If normal ever becomes normal again I'll be the happiest person alive.  
  
My eyes follow Solo as he dances around the room and into the kitchen to raid the fridge. He certainly is enjoying himself. Everyone seems to be going about their own business when Trowa comes back down the stairs. There's a solemn look on his face.  
  
I've mentioned before that Quatre and Trowa seem to have this kind of psychic link, well sometimes it also seems like there is something between Heero and Trowa. Now, mind you, I don't mean anything relationship-wise or sexual but… more subtle then that. Neither of them talk much, so I figure that they have this way of talking without talking, does that make sense?  
  
A perfect example (god I feel like a schoolteacher or something explaining it like this) is this. Trowa comes down the stairs and just stands there, completely silent. A moment later, without any indication that he even noticed Trowa's presence, Heero glances up from his computer and in Trowa's direction. I mean he doesn't even glance around, he just looks right at Trowa, as if he'd known he was there all the time. I can see Heero raise an eyebrow in silent question and that's all they need. When they do that it really creeps me out, since it seems like an entire conversation passes between them in the silence of nothingness. And I hate it when they leave me out of conversations, even if they are silent.  
  
"Quatre wants to talk to all of us, upstairs." Trowa's words are quiet and calm. But behind them I can hear this small amount of… something. Trowa seems shaken, and almost wary of everything around him. Ok, I know he's a trained terrorist and constantly watching everything around him but that's not what I mean. I mean more that it was like he was trying to see something that he normally wouldn't see in a room. That he normally wouldn't be able to see or normally wouldn't notice.  
  
At that thought my heart skips a beat.  
  
Is he trying to see me? Does he know about me?  
  
Quickly I jump up from the couch as Heero stands from his chair and walks toward the stairs and Quatre's room. Trowa moves past him and goes to retrieve Wufei… and Solo. Dammit. I was hoping Solo had left or something. Not that lucky. But still, the whole situation has certainly given me a glimmer of hope. Why would Quatre want to talk to everyone? It has to have something to do with what happened earlier today. It just has to! I bound up the stairs after Heero to Quatre's room, leaving the others to follow Trowa behind us.  
  
I stepped into Quatre's room and am greatly relieved to see my friend in much better condition. He is sitting up in bed and isn't nearly as pale anymore, he even has a small little smile on his face. Yet as soon as I enter the room, right after Heero, I notice another change.  
  
The minute I step into the room Quatre seems to stiffen. His hands wrap tightly around the quilt which covers the bed and his eyes dart in my general direction, but not looking directly at me. So he knows I'm in the room, he can sense me, but he can't see me. Well, there goes that hope. Still, I have to wonder if my momentary jumping into his body has made him more aware of my presence, or if he was just aware of me period because of his space heart or whatever gives him those strange psychic powers he has.  
  
In order to try and calm him I move to the far corner of the room, as far away from him as I can get without leaving the room. His eyes follow me the whole time as I move and when I finally settle in the corner he seems to relax. I guess it was a good feeling for him to know that I'm staying away from him, in the background. Ouch, that hurt.   
  
Contenting myself to lean against the wall I watch the others file slowly into the room. Heero takes a place against the wall near the door, relatively close to Quatre's bed, where he leans against the woodwork. His entire face is blank and he just waits, he doesn't even look curious. Instead, if one didn't know him better, they would assume the blankness on his face meant he wasn't interested in this one bit. However being that I am a fellow gundam pilot and the resident expert on Heero-Yuy-expression translation I know what his expression really means.  
  
That particular state of blankness is akin to Heero Yuy being curious, he just refuses to say or show it. Don't believe me? Well, fine, then don't believe me. But I know my Heero. (And yeah, I know he's not technically my Heero but I'm already depressed as it is, so you just be quiet.)  
  
Trowa, Wufei and Solo enter the room practically at the same time. Trowa takes a seat on the bed next to Quatre, probably to comfort him, while Wufei takes the spot against the wall next to Heero. Solo pulls off my headphones and hit the stop button as he drops into the window seat.   
  
"So what's up?" he asks.  
  
Quatre takes a deep breath and glances at Trowa, in what looks like question or support. Trowa reaches forward and clasps his shoulder with reassurance. "Tell them what you told me," he says quietly.  
  
Quatre nods and takes another breath, then glances at Heero and Wufei. "There's something… in the house."  
  
I immediately see Solo stiffen in his window seat and his grip tightens on the headphones, though not enough to snap them. As for Wufei and Heero, neither of them really responds. Heero remains silent while Wufei raises a single eyebrow in question.  
  
"What kind of thing?" The Chinese pilot asks slowly.  
  
"I'm not sure what to describe it as… but…" Quatre shrugs. "For lack of a better word I'd say a spirit… a ghost."  
  
"Yes!" I cry happily. No one hears me. Damn. Not that I really expected them to, though.  
  
"A spirit?" Heero asks in question. For the look on his face I can tell he's running the idea through his head and weighing the possibility. I have to wonder, what does Heero think of ghosts? It never occurred to me before if he's the science or the supernatural type. I mean does he believe in ghosts and spirits and aliens? Or does he believe in the test tube and beaker?  
  
I can't help but snicker. Nope, Heero believes in dynamite and the big boom. Now that comment would definitely have earned me a patented Heero-Yuy-death-glare.  
  
I miss his glares.  
  
Quatre nods in answer to Heero's question. "That's the best way I can think of to explain it."  
  
"Cool!" Solo sits up in attention and glances around the room. "So Quatre, what does it look like?"   
  
"I don't know. I can't see it, Duo, only sense it."  
  
Solo drops back into the seat and frowns, leanign against the window. "Well, that's no fun. What's the point of a ghost if you can't see it?"  
  
I growl angrily and march across the room, straight for Solo. "You can too see me you jerk! Stop acting!" I take a swing straight at his face but he doesn't respond. Instead I hear a gasp from behind me. Whirling around I glance at Quatre.  
  
He's sitting there in the bed, but he's all stiff again, and he's looking straight at me with these worried and afraid eyes. Wait… is he looking at me or Solo? I can't tell.  
  
"Quatre?" Trowa asks carefully.  
  
"Duo…" Quatre starts slowly but pauses, as if grasping for words. "This is going to sound really strange, but… don't make it mad."  
  
I glance back at Solo to see the surprise play straight on his face, and a grin grows on my own. "He can't see me, Solo, but he can sense my emotions. I'd say that's a pretty cool thing! And almost as good as seeing me!"  
  
Solo didn't respond to me, instead he shrugged at Quatre and stood up from the window seat, walking straight through me and for the door. "Yeah, ok. You're no fun Quatre." And then he leaves the room.  
  
I look around the room and take stock of the others' expressions. Now I know for a fact that what he just did was definitely out of character for Duo Maxwell. I may have pushed off Quatre's comment but I never would have been so mean and uncaring about it. Looking at the others I can tell they noticed this… or rather it seems like they did.  
  
Quatre is just sitting in his bed, looking worriedly after Solo. Trowa… do my eyes deceive me? He's actually glaring slightly after where Solo disappeared. I've never seen Trowa glare before! Wow… dang, he looks even more threatening then Heero. I can't help but shudder a bit at that look.  
  
As for Heero and Wufei? Wufei is watching after where Solo disappeared with confusion and Heero's face is blank. Damn, it's the one blank look on Heero's face that I can't read. What is he thinking? Does he suspect?  
  
Is him suspecting enough to free me? Or does he have to walk up to Solo and punch him, demanding what he did with the real Duo? Heh, now that just sounds silly. And the mental picture of Heero walking up to me and asking what I did with the real me? Except that this time the 'me' he walks up to isn't the real me and… and…  
  
I'm going to stop right there with that thought before I give myself a headache. Still… the idea is a pretty funny one.  
  
"Come on you guys!" I yell loudly. "Figure it out! That imposter is NOT me!"  
  
No one hears me. Arg! Frustrating as hell!  
  
A couple minutes later, they all split off to do their own thing. Within moments of silence I am left alone in the room with Quatre. For a little while he just sits there and looks at the area where I'm standing, near the window. I can't help but smile at him.  
  
"Thanks man, you don't know how happy I am that you noticed me." Closing my eyes I concentrate on sending my sense of pure joy and excitement straight toward him.   
  
He gasps and I open my eyes in worry, afraid that I might have hurt him again. But instead I find he's sitting there smiling, smiling right at me.  
  
"You… you're happy."  
  
My eyes widen. Once again I direct my feelings at him, one short little burst.  
  
His smile widens. "Good, I'm glad."  
  
"Night Quatre," I whisper quietly and head out of the room.  
  
And he's right, I am happy. Because for once in this long week (yeah I know it's only Tuesday night) I am happy. For once in this long week I have hope.  



	7. Wednesday

No, you haven't missed a chapter. There just isn't enough that happens on wednesday to create two whole chapters, thus there is only one for the whole day. :)  
  
Part 7  
Wednesday   
  
"So how come I'm not back in my body yet?"  
  
Solo moves around the room in a fury, looking angrier than ever. I guess that talk with Quatre still had him upset. Here he is, back from work with the guys at the Preventers office and he's about to blow a fuse. World look out! Because if he's in my body that means he blows my fuse… and man that is a huge fuse to blow. But still he's ignoring me.  
  
"Solo! Listen to me right now. Quatre knows what's going on, so why the hell am I still stuck in your body?! Is there something you forgot to tell me? Dammit!"  
  
A smile slides across Solo's face and he sits down on the bed. Crossing his legs he looks right at me, an amused look on his face. Arg, I never realized how annoying that expression was on my own face when I used it on others.  
  
"You aren't remembering the rules correctly, Duo." He says softly.  
  
"Would you care to restate them then?" I growl back at him angrily.  
  
"Certainly." Solo stands up and walks around the room, as if ready to show off some great secret or treasure. Man I just want to punch his lights out, too bad I can't. "The rules are this… Heero has to notice that I am not you. He is the one you chose, so that means he has to notice. It doesn't count if any of your other friends notices or points it out."  
  
"You mean he has to actually walk up to you and accuse you of not being the real me?"  
  
Solo nods and the grin on his face widens.  
  
"Figures," I mutter with venom. "Just my luck that everyone else in the house is beginning to notice except Heero. Mental note for next time, I choose Quatre, at least he can tell when I'm in the room."  
  
At that the grin wilts and Solo turns away from me, rubbing his chin. "That is a small problem. I had an idea that little empath would cause trouble but not this much this early…" He frowns. "It would be so much easier if he weren't in the picture."  
  
Those words strike me cold and I shudder. My eyes widen and I just stare at him. "My god Solo, you aren't honestly thinking of…"  
  
Solo turns to look back at me, his face completely serious and unreadable. "Do you care about him that much? I thought you loved Heero."  
  
I swallow. "I love Heero, but they are my friends. Dammit! Solo don't you dare lay a finger on Quatre!"  
  
Solo merely shrugs and walks toward the bathroom, undoing the long braid of his hair. Jeez, you know that there is something wrong when you get used to seeing your childhood friend in your own body. I actually called it HIS hair! I need my body back soon or this is going to drive me insane.  
  
I watch him walk into the bathroom and I just want to go hide in the corner. What in the world happened to him? The Solo I knew was always smiling, he had a joke for everything and never frowned. The Solo I knew…  
  
The Solo I remembered from when I was younger was a lot like I am now. He didn't have long hair, he kept his sort of messy and short, a lot like Heero's yet it curled more. And he was always laughing. Life to him was one great comic reel and made completely for his amusement, yet he still knew how to be serious when it was needed. Solo was the king of laughter, the one who always smiled and laughed, the one who kept everyone elses' spirits up even when we were hungry or dying. He always made us laugh. He always made me laugh.  
  
And now? What had happened to him?  
  
I sit on the toilet and watch his smeared image through the glass of the shower as he hums away and the water rushes over my body that he's inhabiting. All I can think about is him and how he must feel.  
  
I actually feel sorry for him. I guess I know how he feels, since I was the one who didn't acknowledge that he might still be living. How frustrating was it to watch me for ten years? How angry could I get watching Heero for ten or more years, wishing I was still a part of his life.  
  
Solo died when I was so young… too young. Is it possible to actually understand love when you're that young? That's a strange thought, since I'm not exactly sure whether I understand love right now. But I suppose it's not impossible that he loved me. Whether he did or not, the point is he thought he did.  
  
I feel guilty now, a deep guilt welling inside my stomach making me sick. Solo raised me, Solo was the whole reason I'm called Duo and what did I do? I destroyed what life he had a chance at just because I was unwilling to accept that maybe life contains things that are more then meets the eyes. Just because I was too stubborn to admit that what I believed and what he'd taught me to believe might actually not be completely true.  
  
The shower before me turns off and Solo steps out, wrapping the towel around his body. I glance up at him quietly, but say nothing. I don't know what my face looks like at the moment, not sure what my expression is, but whatever it is he doesn't like it.   
  
"Don't look at me like that," he says quietly. The tone of his voice… or rather my voice that he's been using all this time, is soft and pleading. Like a scared child who didn't expect to be scared.  
  
I sigh softly. "I don't suppose it would help in any way for me to apologize would it?"  
  
Solo bites his lip and leaves the bathroom at a quick step, heading straight for the closet that holds my clothes. I turn just so I can watch him from my seat on the toilet but other than that I don't move.  
  
"No, it wouldn't." He bites out quickly, in a slightly angry tone.  
  
I shrug. "Yeah, well it'll at least make me feel better. I'm sorry Solo. I'm sorry I didn't believe the truth that stood right in front of me."  
  
He stops in his motions and the shirt he is holding drops to the floor. Recovering quickly he bends down and retrieves it, throwing it on in a hurried fashion. "Your apologies don't make up for what you did," he hisses, but still doesn't face me.  
  
"Yeah, I know." I say softly.  
  
He turns and looks at me in confusion, just standing there in the black tee-shirt and wet towel wrapped around his waist. He just stares at me in confusion and indecision. I offer a small pitying smile.  
  
"Mind me asking a question? What happens if Heero doesn't notice me?"  
  
The confusion drops off his face and he goes back to dressing, discarding the towel in favor of a pair of black jeans. "Then you stay like that," he states out matter-of-factly.  
  
"No, what happens to you?"   
  
His hands fumble and he drops the hair tie and what hair he'd started to braid. I can see his hands trembling slightly as he tries to pretend he didn't react to that. Slowly those trembling hands redo the long strands of wet hair into a braid.  
  
"You don't know…" I venture softly.  
  
"I don't care!" He cries out in anger and whirls on me, a glare of hatred set deep in his face. I jump backward in surprise and tumble off the toilet seat to the ground, my head going through the shower door. I sit up and shake my head, glad it didn't actually hit the shower door since that would have really hurt. Meanwhile Solo stalks over to me and grabs the front of my shirt, yanking me to my feet.  
  
"I don't care! And don't you dare try to work your manipulations on me. I know you're not sorry, and it wouldn't matter even if you were. You destroyed my life! For all I care you're the one who pulled the trigger on the gun that shot me! Admit it!" He screams shaking me. "Admit it that you were happy when I was gone!"  
  
"I-" I attempt to choke out an answer but I can't, he's holding my throat too tightly. Wait a second, I'm a ghost and ghosts don't need to breathe right? Well then how the hell is he choking me?!  
  
I glance around worriedly in a panic as he continues to yell and shake me, then my eyes set on the bathroom mirror. My eyes widen as I notice the reflection… or lack there of. In fact the entire mirror is blank even though Solo and I are standing right in front of it. My eyes widen even more as I remember his reaction to my comment about mirrors yesterday. Now it all made sense.  
  
Solo had no reflection!  
  
He must have seen me staring at the mirror because he turns his head and glances at the mirror, then the sneer on his face grows. With a growl he throws me right at the mirror and I shut my eyes, expecting to hit the wall. Instead I go flying through it and land out in the hallway outside my room. Solo rushes out of my room and just glares at me in anger as I struggle to my feet.  
  
"You have no reflection, that's why my comment bothered you yesterday," I choke out as I rub my throat.  
  
Solo's eyes narrow even more. He opens his mouth to yell at me when there is a voice behind us. Both of us glance over Solo's shoulder to see Wufei standing there, book in hand. A single slender eyebrow is raised in question but nothing more.  
  
"Duo?"  
  
I see Solo swallow his anger and just stare at Wufei. For a long time, as I struggle to stand once more, Solo and Wufei just stare at each other. Finally Wufei lowers his eyebrow.  
  
"Good night," he mutters, walking past Solo to the door for his own room. I watch him close the door to his room and disappear, my jaw hanging.  
  
"What the hell is wrong with you, Wufei?! Are you blind!? Didn't you see that?" I scream at Wufei's door and actually consider marching into the room and screaming at him some more but I stop as Solo lets out a small chuckle behind me. Instead I turn to look at him. "Yeah, laugh it up, asshole."  
  
Solo merely shrugs and walks down the hall. "Time's running out," he mutters as he passes me then heads down the stairs.  
  
Angrily I attempt to kick the wall and end up losing my balance, falling into my own room and landing on the floor. Was Wufei blind?! Arg!! Well at least there was one good thing gained from today. At least I'd learned Solo has no reflection.  
  
Still, the chance of Heero noticing that was about as slim as him noticing that the desk color under his precious laptop. As in zip, zero, nada, nill.   
  
"That's it! Next time I chose Quatre!" I growl angrily, yet the growl is only half-hearted.  
  
I guess I'm slowly coming around to the realization that there will not be a next time. I have three days before the week is up and I'm stuck like this forever.  
  
Like it or not Duo Maxwell, you better get used to it.  
  
Life may suck. But lack of life is worse.  
  
end of part 7 


	8. Thursday Morning

Part 8  
Thursday Morning  
  
Thursday morning started like all the others. I race down stairs as soon as my alarm goes off and wait around in frustration as I watch everyone grab breakfast and get ready for work. And then something amazing happens. You know those events during the day that just turn an entirely shitty life around? Well this is one of them, and it was all embodied in the words Heero said.  
  
"You guys go ahead, I'll ride in separately today."  
  
Now, granted the words I really would have loved him to say were something along the lines of "Duo, you're not Duo." But I can't be choosy here now can I? I mean him wanting to go into work by himself was a really good thing, because you know what that means? That means there is no way Solo can push me out of the car this time. Finally, after a whole week of battling to stay in that car when they went to work, I was going to be able to be with them at the Preventer's office. I still have no idea what I am going to do in that extra amount of time, but the fact that I have that extra amount of time is good enough for me.   
  
So of course, I cheered!  
  
"Why's that?" Solo asks as he shoves a fork full of egg into his mouth.  
  
"Things to do," Heero mutters, shuffling through the cupboard for the new loaf of bread that was stuffed in the back.  
  
"I'll ride with you!" Solo volunteers instantly, I immediately turn a glare of death on him, no effect.  
  
Trowa shakes his head. "Duo, remember? Lady Une scheduled a meeting for us early this morning, we can't be late."  
  
"But Heero's gonna be late," Solo whines.  
  
"Hn." Heero only grunts in response as he finds the bread and pops two pieces in the toaster.  
  
"No buts Maxwell, if I have to sit in that woman's meeting then so do you," Wufei bites out. "You aren't getting out of it."  
  
Solo lets out an exasperated sigh and drops back in his seat, crossing his arms. Once again I cheer, and this time he shoots me a moment's glare. I quickly look around but only Quatre seems to notice me or the glare. He stands at the stove, cooking his serving of eggs in his bathrobe. Once again he's staying home for being sick.  
  
You know, it's funny but this never occurred to me before. Quatre got sick when I turned ghost, am I affecting his health? Or was he staying home for some other reason?  
  
"You going to be alright today, Quatre?" Trowa asks, placing his dishes in the sink.  
  
I watch as Quatre's eyes dart in my direction (even though I know he can't see me) and then he smiles. "Think I'll run some errands. I'm feeling a little better and there's no reason for me to stay home today."  
  
My jaw drops. No way! Can Quatre sense my emotions so much that he knows I'm planning on hitching a ride with Heero to the Preventer's headquarters? That means… that means that he's known about me from the start, that he's sensed me from the start! That means that he actually stayed home from work that Monday morning to discover what exactly was in the house.  
  
I can't help but stare at him as I realize all of this. Quatre's known I was here the whole time! Now granted he doesn't know I'm the real Duo but he's sensed me. And that means… he probably told the guys more then I witnessed that one night in the room. If there is one thing about the relationship between Trowa and Quatre it is that they share everything. And now that I think of it Quatre wasn't hiding his glances in my direction any more. It was almost as if he was trying to communicate with me, and I hadn't even noticed it.  
  
He'd said no reason for him to stay at home today… that means he knows I was going to go with Heero to the Preventer's headquarters. And at the same time it also means that he is giving me permission to go, kinda telling me that he would be all right if I left.   
  
Woah woah woah me, slow down! Ok, I'll admit that I might be reading a little too much into this but it's amazing how much you realize about your friends when you can see but not be seen. I'd spent the majority of the week watching them and that coupled with what I already knew about Quatre was that that blond haired kid was a lot smarter then he appeared. I mean heck, even the scientists admitted they used him because he had the ability to bring us together as a group, even if he didn't seem like it as first.   
  
Out of all of us, Quatre seems to be the most aware of the world around him. He isn't blinded by the mission, he still has a firm hold of his emotions, his vision isn't shaded by bias and he doesn't hide behind a grinning mask. How ironic that the most child-like of all of us was also, I'd argue, is the most mature. But maybe I am reading too much into this all once again.  
  
In any case I'm sure Quatre had just given me permission to not worry about him and what had happened as a result of my trying to jump into his body. He'd just told me, in a very indirect way, that he was going to be all right. I can't help but smile at him and I really want to rush over and hug him. The only thing that stops me, of course, is his reaction the last time I'd tried to touch him. Oh well, I'll have plenty of time to hug him when I get my body back.  
  
If I get my body back…  
  
But I'm not going to think about that right now!  
  
So, as the other guys all pile into the car to go to work, I spend my time following Heero around the house. For about an hour I make myself into Heero's shadow, making positive that the moment he decides to leave I am right there behind him, ready to jump into his jeep and ride with him to work. I can't wait! An entire day at work with Heero and… and… and what the hell am I going to do to convince to him that I exist?  
  
I slump down in the seat of his jeep as he starts the engine. Damn. You know what? This is like a test at school. Where you completely forget about the test and then you learn you have it in an hour. You panic and hope you remember everything. And then, by some act of god, the test is delayed, but only an hour. And yet that hour still isn't enough time for you to study more, so instead you just sit there worrying and making yourself feel bad! Ack!   
  
Yes, it has been established in my life that all acts of god suck, because they generally end in my getting a swift kick in the ass.  
  
Well, we arrive at the Preventer's headquarters in due time and I do my usual routine. You know, dance around the room making a fool of myself; yell; scream; attempt to kick and hit things I know I can't ever touch and finally I just fall onto the floor, exhausted as Heero continues to sit at his desk, completely obvious.  
  
"You jerk! Notice me or… or… something! I'm right here!!"   
  
Heero doesn't respond.  
  
With a loud sigh I drop back onto the floor and just lay there as if I were going to make a snow angel in the hardwood floor. Beside me there is a creak and the door opens, Trowa stepping in the room and walking right up to Heero's desk. And it's the funniest thing but Trowa walked right through me, as if I were a carpet. Me? A carpet on Heero's floor? That is a scary thought.  
  
I quickly stand up and shake the feeling off. Duo Maxwell is not a bear rug!  
  
Meanwhile Heero raises his head from the screen of the laptop and glances at Trowa in question.  
  
"Lady Une thought you'd find these of interest. I don't know what to think." He hands Heero a small manila envelope. Quickly I scurry to the desk to get a look as he opens the envelope.  
  
Heero undoes the string holding it shut and pulls out a pile of photographs. Upon seeing them his grip loosens and they slide out onto the desk. Both of our eyes widen as we look. Heero immediately looks back at Trowa, the confusion obvious on his face.  
  
"Is this some joke?"  
  
Trowa shakes his head.  
  
Heero voiced my thoughts exactly. "This has got to be some sick joke," I mutter as I stare at the pictures. Here before me, lying on Heero's desk, are photo snaps of my own car! But they aren't just photos of my car, they are photos of my car looking like a pile of crumpled aluminum foil up against a large tree. What's worse is the majority of the paint was burnt away and the car was charred. True barbecued. I swallow as the memory of the crash washes over me and I begin to feel sick. How the hell did Trowa get pictures of the car crash if Solo had my car and it was in perfect condition?   
  
Heero picks up one of the photos and swallows hard as he scrutinizes it. "You made it to work this morning?"  
  
Trowa nods. "Heero, that is not the car I rode in to work this morning."  
  
We both look at Trowa in confusion. Without a word Trowa pulls a single photo out of the pile and shows it to Heero. It is a close up of the license plate from the mangled car. My license plate.  
  
Heero's hand visibly trembles as he takes the photo from Trowa and just stares at it. "That can't be Duo's car," he murmurs softly.  
  
Trowa frowns. "I looked at the evidence and the photos. Heero, that is Duo's car, and yet so is the one I rode in to work today. I understand this about as much as you do."  
  
"THAT'S MY CAR!" I scream loudly, right in Heero's ear, but he doesn't respond. Instead he carefully gathers all the pictures and places them in the envelope, sealing it shut once more. I can only stand there with my jaw hanging open.  
  
"Thank you Trowa."  
  
Trowa nods and leaves the room, shutting the door behind him; meanwhile Heero sets the envelope off to the side of his desk and returns to typing on his laptop. I can't believe my eyes.  
  
"That's it?! That's it?!" I can't help but scream at him. "You idiot! How can you ignore that? That's my fucking car! Can't you see that?! The evidence is right there in front of your eyes and yet you just ignore it!? Yuy you… you… fucking idiot!"  
  
Rage burns through me and I take a swing at his laptop, focusing all my anger into that one punch. Suddenly the room explodes into a flash of sparks. Heero jumps back from the desk as his laptop bounces and sputters, sparks flying and screen sizzling until it finally falls to the floor in a smoking dead heap. We both stand there, our eyes full of shock and even a little fear.  
  
I watch numbly as Heero kneels down next to the laptop and carefully touches it, causing a few more sparks to dance along the edges. Slowly he stands up and looks back to his desk, his eyes fixing on the envelope and the stack of photos inside. Without a word races out of the room at a hurried pace.  
  
I can't follow. Instead I just stand there in shock watching the smoking laptop on the floor.   
  
I did that.  
  
I hit the laptop and caused it to explode in a fury of sparks.  
  
There are only two words in the English language that fit this moment in time and this single event.  
  
"Holy shit!"  
  
The moment those words roll off my lips my surprise melts away and I am filled with this sense of utter joy. I can touch something! I can touch Heero's laptop when I'm really super pissed off! Not only can I touch Heero's laptop but…  
  
Out of experiment I walk over to the fan sitting in the window of Heero's office. Pulling back my fist I concentrate all my anger and let it fly, aiming right for the fan. Once again sparks fly and I shield my face, out of habit, as the air conditioner sputters and dies.  
  
"YEAH!"   
  
Yes! I can finally touch something! I could finally get something to react to my presence besides animals and Quatre! I finally have something to make Heero notice me. And not only that but there is actual evidence of the crash! I can't help but dance around the room and yell out my joy to the entire unhearing world.  
  
Yes! That's it! I finally have a chance to win!  
  
"Heero? Where are you going?" Solo's voice echoes through the hallway outside and I race out of the room to see Solo facing Heero as he's pulling on his jacket.  
  
"I… I have some business," Heero stutters out unconvincingly. He pulls his jacket on the rest of the way and heads straight for the door. Immediately I try to follow, ducking under Solo's attempt to grab my arm.  
  
"Heero, wait!"   
  
Solo races down the hallway after us but he's too far behind. He won't catch up. Now if only I can catch up to Heero before he drives off…  
  



	9. Thursday Afternoon

Part 9   
Thursday Afternoon  
  
So here I am, sitting in Heero's car as he cruises down the street. He's driving like a mad man; hands clutching tightly at the wheel, turning sharply a moment before it's too late. I can only guess what's going through his head, but I know one thing for sure. Heero Yuy is pissed that I destroyed his laptop, and when I 'fess up to it, as soon as I'm back in my body, he's probably going to give me the meanest right hook…  
  
I am not looking forward to that.  
  
However in order for him to punch me I have to have my body back, so I am looking forward to that. Hey, good is good, even if it does come with a little bad. Right about now I'd be happy to jump into a fire pit if it meant I got my body back. I just want my body back now, I'm pretty much beyond caring if Heero really loves me or if I'm just another member of the puppy-love-perfect-soldier-fanclub. See, the way I figure I can always find out if he loves me when I get my body back.  
  
It's sad but it's the truth. Unfortunately getting my body back has taken precedent to finding out if Heero loves me. I hate priorities.  
  
So I'm sitting in the car and he's driving… somewhere. We obviously aren't heading home, since we're going in the opposite direction, so I have no idea where we're going. Least… no wait this looks familiar.  
  
Turning to look out the window I vaguely start to recognize the landscape a little more. A particular curve in the road, that broken street lamp that really pissed me off that night since it left a large amount of the road dark. Huge trees lining the road and the ditch… and right up ahead is that one same tree, still sitting there with the crumpled up piece of metal that used to be my car! I stare in shock as Heero pulls his car to a stop and just glances through me out the window.  
  
Two things cross my mind.   
  
1. They really don't clean up highway garbage that fast do they? I mean it's almost been a whole week!  
  
2. Holy shit it's my car!  
  
So how the heck was Solo able to ride my car back to the guys' house the night of the crash and with the guys to work every morning there after? Did he have some strange ungodly power to create things out of thin air? That didn't make sense but it had to be the only explanation. Dang, what a power to have! Is that the weird kind of power death has when mixed with life? Or just some fluke?  
  
Something else suddenly strikes me, in his version of my car I'd been able to see my reflection when in truth neither of us actually had a reflection. Which meant Solo probably had some really nice powers of illusion or none of this would even be possible.   
  
Beside me Heero just sits there for a moment, glancing out the window at my wrecked jeep. Crumpled and burnt metal, broken glass and torn up seats that had spilled their insides. Making a small grunting sound he turns his head away and reaches for the keys to his own car, to start it up again.  
  
"What? You're leaving? Without even getting out of the car to see if that's mine? Heero Yuy, what the hell is wrong with you?!"  
  
Obviously he doesn't hear me and the car's engine starts back into its gentile purring. I growl and bare my teeth, thinking of only one thing. I killed his laptop and his air conditioner earlier, and damn it all I will kill his car if that's what it takes to make him get a clue. Without a second thought I close my eyes and dive into the hood of his car.  
  
For a moment I feel nothing then there's this really weird sensation as electricity crackles around my non-body. Almost immediately I am tossed from the engine followed by a rain of sparks and I land in the middle of the street, my vision spinning wildly. Beyond me the front hood of the car sputters loudly and sparks fly.  
  
Heero opens his door and dives from the car just before the engine bursts into flames, the bright reds and yellows licking at the sides of his car. Thinking quickly he opens the backseat and comes out with a fire extinguisher, spraying the engine with white foam until the car itself looks like it has rabies. I groan and stand to my feet as he finally drops the empty fire extinguisher. Glancing warily at the now still engine his eyes drift back to the car wreck. I stand up and follow him as he walks slowly toward it.  
  
Heero steps up to the wreckage and kneels down slowly. Reaching forward he moves around a few of the charred pieces. I stand off to the side, my hands clutched tightly together and having a very hard time swallowing.  
  
Every time he turns over a new piece of metal I can't help but wince. I keep expecting him to find a charred body or something. You know? I keep expecting to see my real body BBQed to a crisp in that pile of scrap metal and I really don't like that idea. Still, after searching the sight of the crash for a good half-hour he stands back to his feet and brushes his hands on his pants, sticking something very small in his pocket.  
  
I can't see what it is, not fair! I honestly have no idea whatsoever what he found. Maybe he's going to take a piece of the wreckage to some big forensic scientist or something to find out what really happened, but wouldn't it make more sense to just tell them where the crash is?   
  
"And now you're leaving. Heero! Come on, at least mutter what you're thinking or something! That's my car! Surely you noticed that, can't you piece two and two together? He's not me!"  
  
Heero walks right past me and back to his own car. I watch in defeat as he grabs his keys and his jacket from the car. Then he starts on a brisk jog back to the house, I guess I really fried his car. So, I jog next to him, or rather try to and pretty much succeed, toward the house. The whole time he's completely quiet and I honestly have no idea what he's thinking, aside from the fact that he is in deep thought.   
  
Man, this is really going to start driving me insane… though it probably already has started to now that I think of it.  
  
We finally reach home and I feel exhausted. Yeah, I know I don't really have a body so I shouldn't feel so worn out but there's a lot of psychological stuff mixed into exercising so I still feel worn out, even though my limbs don't hurt or anything like that. Go figure.  
  
As soon as we reach home we find Trowa and Wufei sitting at the kitchen table. Their discussion, whatever it might have been, dies as soon as Heero enters the room. Heero merely nods to them and wipes the sweat from his brow. Stepping up to the fridge he pulls out a large carton of orange juice and proceeds to down the meager amount that's left.  
  
"Why are you home so late?" Wufei asks. "You left before all of us."  
  
"Car broke," Heero mutters between swallows.  
  
I see Trowa raise an eyebrow. "Your car broke? Like your laptop?"  
  
Heero tosses the empty orange juice carton in the trash and frowns deeply. After a moment he shrugs. "I don't know."  
  
"You don't know?!" I growl angrily and take a swipe at him, attempting to punch him right in the gut, no response. I drop my fist angrily and fall to sitting on the floor, depression and helplessness flowing over my body in waves. "How could you not know?" I hiss at his unhearing ears. "Does it need to be spelled out for you?"  
  
I watched in despair as Heero turns and leaves the kitchen. I can hear his steps as he climbs the stairs to his room and I just shut my eyes, lying there on the kitchen floor like road kill.   
  
He's not going to figure it out. I can't accept that but I don't have the energy to try and get him to notice. Instead I just lay there as the sun dips below the horizon and the rest of the guys head to bed. Tomorrow I'll try again, and I'll try non-stop all day.   
  
But I don't have much time left.  
  
Tomorrow is Friday.  
  
  



	10. Friday

Part 10  
Friday   
  
Well, given how much energy I've exhausted in the last twelve hours it was all wasted. By some crazy fluke the guys ended up staying home for Friday and I thought this was a great chance to get them to notice me. Unfortunately my plan failed, miserably.  
  
Mostly because I have not had a plan to start with and it's far too late to think of one now. I am so fucked it's not even funny.  
  
Now it's Friday night and the guys are going about their own business. Quatre and Trowa went out for the night, to spend some time alone and thus I'm left in the house with just Heero, Wufei and Solo.   
  
As usual Wufei can be found in the small library/office we have, reading one of the many books there. Yep, our resident scholar chipping away and making up for all the knowledge he missed studying during the war. Nice scholar, he can't even use his 'superior intellect' to see me or figure out what's going on.  
  
Solo is 'veging out in front of the TV, munching on a bag of chips and laughing at some brainless show I might have enjoyed. I can't see how I could watch that stuff now, it just seems so pointless. But then again everything seems pointless when you're struggling toward one goal, and your life depends on it.  
  
And Heero… the jerk is up in his room trying to repair his laptop. Trowa was nice enough to bring it back for him and that's exactly what he is working on right now. I spent all day trying to make him notice me and I am worn out. I even made parts of the computer spark at him but I think that was a big mistake. See, now it seems like he's just counting the entire thing as a coincidence and doesn't seem to care.  
  
I still haven't found out what he pulled out of the car wreck.   
  
Walking back up the stairs and into Heero's room I find him sitting on the floor, tinkering with the left over pieces.  
  
"It's fried you know, you aren't gonna be able to fix it," I mutter hatefully.   
  
He continues to fiddle with the pieces, meanwhile I drop to sitting on the floor next to him.  
  
"Do you even notice I'm gone?" I ask quietly. "You have to realize the person downstairs isn't me. If he was he'd be up here in the room right now driving you up the wall and being annoying. Haven't you realized that all he does is sit in front of the TV and pretend to be me? Haven't you noticed? Or…" My voice cracks in spite of myself and I glance away, even though I know he can't see my face.  
  
"Or did you never notice me in the first place?"  
  
I glance back at Heero as he stands up and brushes his hands off. I guess he's decided the laptop is now worthless because he picks it up and walks over to the trash, dumping it in and brushing his hands off in a gesture of defeat. Sighing silently he walks over to his dresser and grabs his jacket, leaving the room to go downstairs.  
  
I follow fast, yelling at him. "You can't leave! I need you to be here! You need to confront Solo, you know he's not me!"  
  
Heero turns and walks into the TV room and I stop frozen in the doorway with wide eyes as he walks over to Solo, tapping him on the shoulder. Solo looks up and hits the mute button on the TV.  
  
"What's up, Heero?"  
  
His eyes flash to me for a moment and all I can do is stare as Heero silently glares at him for a moment. No way! Is he seriously going to say something to him? Has he honestly noticed just like I thought he had?  
  
I watch in amazement as Heero digs in his pocket and pulls out a single item dangling from a small chain. The gold and violet stone sparkles in the dim flashing light from the TV and I couldn't help but gasp and reach for my own neck. Heero is holding my crucifix, the one from the Maxwell church. The one Sister Helen had given to me as a gift before it burned down.  
  
He pulled my crucifix out of the wreaked car.  
  
"I found this at the office yesterday," Heero's voice is flat and devoid of emotion.  
  
Solo reaches up and takes the crucifix from him. "Thanks, it must have fallen off."  
  
Heero regards Solo quietly for a moment and my jaw drops. He just caught Solo in a flat out lie and he knows it! So why the hell isn't anything happening? I chance stepping forward and reaching toward him.  
  
"Heero?"  
  
Heero merely nods toward Solo and turns around, walking right through me and out of the room. My knees suddenly become weak and I can't stand. The entire world around me is spinning and I collapse to the floor, tears threatening silently from my eyes. I just kneel there silently as I hear him leave the house, the door slamming shut behind him, followed by the sound of one of the cars starting in the garage.   
  
"Duo…"  
  
I look up to see Solo staring at me in horror, the crucifix dangling forgotten from one hand. He looks just as surprised as me.  
  
"You lied." I choke out.  
  
"No," he says quickly shaking his head.  
  
"You said if he figured it out I'd get my body back."  
  
"No, no!" Solo jumps up from the couch and rushes to my side. He tries to hug me for comfort or something but I pull away from his arms and he stops. "I swear Duo, I didn't know this would happen. I was told that if you noticed me I would get my own body back. I… It should have worked."  
  
I clutch my stomach as a feeling of nausea washes over my body. "But he noticed! He should have seen me!"  
  
"Oh god… Duo I didn't know. I didn't know this would happen!"  
  
I look up and meet his eyes, swallowing hard. He's telling the truth. He's completely sincere. He honestly didn't know this would happen. I watch as the tears begin to roll down his face, leaking from his absolutely terrified eyes.   
  
I can't say anything. I just kneel there, my body shaking and trembling all over.   
  
"I'm sorry," he whispers softly.  
  
My voice shakes. "You mean I'm trapped like this? I can't… I can't ever get back?"  
  
He shakes his head madly, clasping his hands over his ears. "NO, no, no, no! I swear I didn't know! I swear! Oh god, Duo I never meant… I was angry with you but I never meant to leave you like this! Not even from the beginning! I was going to tell him tonight, even if he didn't figure it out! I swear!"  
  
Beyond us the front door opens and I can hear Quatre's cheerful voice. He and Trowa enter the living room and Quatre suddenly gasps. I turn to see him grasping hard onto Trowa's shoulders, trying to stand as his body shakes. Trowa immediately responds and grabs onto him, keeping him up-right.  
  
"Quatre? What's wrong?"  
  
Quatre looks up from Trowa to where Solo is kneeling on the floor, right next to me. He was still kneeling there shaking his head and covering his ears, his eyes shut tightly.   
  
"Duo?" Quatre whispers quietly. "Something is wrong with Duo…"  
  
Trowa gently sets Quatre on the floor and rushes to Solo's side trying to calm him down. Trying to help him.  
  
Trying to help him.  
  
They can't see me.  
  
They'll never be able to see me again.  
  
"I didn't mean to. I didn't mean to. I didn't mean to. I didn't mean to. So sorry. So sorry. So sorry…" Solo's voice echoes softly, repeating the sorrowful mantra endlessly. I swallow hard and stand up. With one glance toward Quatre I move to leave the room.  
  
"No! Wait!"  
  
I look back to see Solo looking straight at me, his cheeks stained with tears and his lips trembling. "I'm sorry. I honestly didn't mean it."  
  
I nod slowly, flashing him a sad smile.  
  
"I know," I say back sadly. "It's not your fault. Take care of my friends, Solo."  
  
"Oh god, I am so sorry!" Solo collapses backwards, curling into a tight ball as he cries softly. Hugging myself I leave the room, leaving my childhood friend in the capable hands of my two former co-pilots. They'd take care of him.  
  
Silently I climb the stairs to Heero's room and walk through the door into the empty room. My body is shaking and the tears are threatening again. As I crawl up into his bed they finally begin to flow and I just collapse, lying there, a crumbled up crying mess.  
  
"Heero…"  
  
The silence of the room surrounds me and all I can do is lie here, crying as I've never cried before.  
  
What a horrible fate. I can't even smell his scent on his own bed.  
  
Closing my eyes I try to relax my body, my tears fading to soft hiccups and small sobs. I simply lay there; imagining that Heero is holding me on my last night.  
  
Tomorrow is Saturday.   
  
Given how Quatre had reacted to me and Solo in the living room I know I can't keep doing this to them. I am trapped like this and I'm not going to get my real body back. I realize that now. They'll take care of Solo, even if he tells them the truth I know they'll all understand and take care of him. It was so stupid of me to not realize throughout this entire week that he was suffering too.   
  
Solo was and is one of the best friends I've ever had. It was so stupid of me to think he'd betray me like this on purpose. I know him, I should have known he was planning on helpping me back into my real body on the last day. After all, he'd never been one for long term revenge. It wasn't his style. I shouldn't have know that.  
  
None of this is his fault. I know that. I never should have blamed him for what happened.   
  
Closing my eyes tightly I take a deep breath and curl up even tighter on the bed. I know I can't keep doing what I'm doing to Quatre. And I know that if I just stayed around the house I'd only become mad with Heero, beginning to hate him as I thought Solo hated me. So now I have to make a decision, one I'll stick to for the rest of my existence.  
  
Tomorrow is Saturday.  
  
Tomorrow I'm leaving.  
  
Tonight will be the first and the last night I ever fall asleep in Heero's bed.  
  
  



	11. Saturday

Part 11  
Saturday  
  
I wake up on Saturday morning with my eyes burning and swollen shut from crying myself to sleep. I don't have to open my eyes to know I am curled into a tight ball and I still feel like crying, I am that miserable. Still, after a few seconds I force myself to open my eyes. I made a promise to myself, I promised them I'd leave. I had to leave and find another place to carry on my existence, because I didn't want to hurt any of them.  
  
Rubbing my eyes I let them open and yawn, despite myself. However that yawn stops midway as my eyes come to meet with a pair of cobalt blue eyes, starring back at me in confusion. My breath catches in my throat and I suddenly can't breathe.  
  
"Heero?" I choke out in disbelief. For a moment I'd forgotten it was his bed I'd been lying in. But here I was and he was staring right back at me. My eyes widen as this realization sinks in. He is starring at me!   
  
I bolt up in the bed, sitting up so fast my head spins. Reaching down I pat my hand on the bed and am surprised as I actually feel the soft covers and mattress. I can touch the bed, but yet it still doesn't quite feel real. It's hard to explain. It's almost like I'm only half way touching it, because it still doesn't give to my pushing on it, but at last I can actually feel it.   
  
"Duo? What are you doing here?" Heero groggily sits up and rubs the sleep from his eyes.  
  
Tears are threatening again at my eyes, but I make no effort to stop them. "You… you can see me?"  
  
He frowns. "Of course."  
  
My jaw drops and I forget to breathe again. In fact I'm practically trembling with amazement and excitement. He can see me! He can actually see me! A smile grows across my face and I suddenly don't care what he thinks. Jumping forward I wrap my arms around Heero, laughing happily.  
  
Or at least I would if I could have.  
  
To my utter surprise I soar right through him and hit the floor behind him, where I just barely manage to catch myself with trembling arms. I close my eyes tightly and bite my lip. All I can think about is how much I hate life at the moment.   
  
"It's not fair! You can finally see me, and yet I'm still trapped like this." My arms shake and I can barely keep myself from collapsing into a sobbing mess on the floor. Oh yes, how the mighty gundam warrior has fallen. How many times have I broken into tears in the last twenty-four hours? Far too many, but trust me, I'm really past the point of caring.  
  
I hear Heero get out of the bed behind me and he kneels down beside me. Almost timidly he reaches forward and tries to place his hand on my cheek, but it goes right through my face as if I'm not even here. Then again, I guess technically I'm only half here. I wince as I watch his hand jerk back.  
  
"How is this…?" His voice drops off and he just stares at me.  
  
"I… I died Heero."  
  
"No."  
  
I look up and meet his eyes, completely surprised by the shock written across his face. It's the look a parent gets when they find out their child has died. Or the look a husband gets when he finds his wife has died in childbirth or something equally as tragic. Is that called wishful thinking? Even in a moment like this I'm thinking of us as a couple, I guess I'll never learn.  
  
I shake my head at him and force myself to sit up, taking a deep breath to calm myself. "Sunday… driving home from work. I swerved to avoid hitting a cat and I wasn't watching. I hit a tree. I'm dead Heero. I have been dead for a whole week."  
  
"Impossible," he mutters silently.   
  
"I'm the one Quatre kept sensing. I'm the one who destroyed your computer. I'm the one who stopped your car." I sigh heavily. "It was all me Heero, I just… I wanted you to notice me one more time before I disappeared."  
  
"Then who is-"   
  
Heero's voice is cut off by a small cry from my room and I suddenly remember Solo. Wait! Heero can see me and he recognizes me. Which means I'm back in my own body and Solo is… Solo is…  
  
"Solo?!" I jump to my feet and race from Heero's room to my own, jumping right through the walls because it's the fastest way to reach my destination. I reach my own room to find Solo, back in his own body, sitting on my bed. He looks up in surprise and meets my eyes with his own. His emerald eyes are full of fear, he's terrified. A second later Heero bursts in through the door and stops, just staring at both of us.  
  
I quietly approach Solo. "Solo…"  
  
A weak smile crosses his face. "I guess I was told right. You did get your body back. I'm happy for you, Duo." His voice sounds hollow and something about him isn't right. I can't place my finger on it but something about him…  
  
Slowly he lifts a hand and I watch as his skin slowly begins to fade into nothing, his fingers dissolving slowly into thin air. He looks at his hand and then looks at me again, the terror apparent in his eyes.   
  
"Oh god…" I whisper.  
  
In a second Solo is on his feet and right next to me, his arms wrapping tightly around my body. I grab onto him as he shakes, just holding on to me and burying his head in my chest.   
  
"Don't let me go," he whispers quietly. "I don't want to disappear."  
  
I hold him tighter, my eyes meeting with Heero's as he stands near the door. My eyes go back to Solo as his grip around my waist loosens. I know why it's loosening… his hands and arms are disappearing. And I can't do a thing! It feels horrible to know you've won, that I've won and gotten my body back, but at the expense of my friend. No! NO! This isn't happening! It can't be happening!  
  
"Don't let go," Solo rasps. I look down at him and see his face turned up to mine. He's trembling with fear as the tears roll down his face, I feel so helpless! "I'm sorry."  
  
"Don't apologize, you don't need to. None of this was your fault and I forgave you a long time ago." I tighten my grip around him but that doesn't help. We both crumble to our knees on the ground and I just watch in horror as a small smile crosses Solo's face as his face too begins to dissolve and melt away.  
  
"Be happy, old friend."  
  
And then he's gone.  
  
Heero finally moves from the door, kneeling down beside me. I'm happy for once that he's silent, just letting me deal with this. While I would have welcomed a comforting hug right now I probably would have pushed him away. Heero couldn't understand. I'd gotten my childhood friend back and I had been so stupid. Rather than spending my limited time with him I'd wasted it. I shouldn't have wasted my time trying to make the others notice me. I should have spent it with Solo, making up for everything I had done wrong.  
  
It is true what they say: you don't know what you have until it's gone. Here I thought all this time I was fighting for my life, when in fact I was given a chance at something even greater. I'd had the chance to say good bye to the person who raised me and made me who I am, and I'd shot it right to hell.  
  
I've lost everything. Solo is gone. Again. I can't touch anything. I'm only half in this world. I can see Heero but not touch him. And he can finally see me and talk to me, and yet still can't touch me. I have to wonder, what will happen to me when this day is over? Did he discover too late? I look over at Heero, who is just sitting next to me, his face blank and masked.  
  
"How did you figure out that it wasn't the real me that you were living with?" I ask quietly. If something happens to me I want to know how he figured it out.  
  
"Monday, in the car. I sat in the backseat and I noticed he had no reflection."  
  
My eyes widen at his answer. "You figured it out that early?"  
  
He shakes his head. "I just acknowledged it was strange. I didn't connect it until he the way he reacted when Quatre told us about the spirit in the house. I knew then that either there was something really wrong or that wasn't Duo. The crucifix in the wreck was what determined it mostly."  
  
"Heero. I was told I'd get my body back when you noticed it wasn't me, but now I'm not sure."  
  
He opens his mouth to answer but doesn't. I sigh softly and meet his eyes, my own expression completely serious. "I just want you to know why agreed to this. Even if I do get my body back and you punch me for being this stupid tomorrow. I did it because I wanted to see you again Heero. I didn't want to die without seeing your face one more time."  
  
He sits there, the shock crossing his face and yet he says nothing. Timidly I reach up my hand and move it down near the edge of his face. I know I can't touch him and I know he can't feel me, but the gesture itself is important. So I place my hand as close to his face as I can and mimic sliding it down his cheek. My breath catches in my throat as I notice a tingling feeling in my hands. I watch sadly as my own fingers begin to dissolve.  
  
"I knew it was all too good to be true," I mutter quietly, pulling my hand back.   
  
"Duo…" I watch sadly as Heero's own hand drifts up and touches his own cheek, where my hand would have touched him had I been solid.  
  
"I love you Heero. I just wanted you to know that."  
  
Those words seem to hit him like an electrical shock and he freezes, his eyes locking on my face, while his hand still rests on his own cheek. I sadly look down at my own hands as the tingling sensation moves up my arms.   
  
It's a strange feeling to know your body is disappearing. In fact it doesn't feel like that at all, it just feels like that pins and needles feeling of your foot falling asleep. I can't feel my fingers or my arms and my vision is fading. I want so much to reach forward and attempt to wrap my arms around Heero but I don't. All I can do is just sit here as I fade away, waiting for the inevitable to completely take me.  
  
My vision is fading, the room becoming darker and darker even though my eyes are still open. I attempt to open my mouth to speak one last word to him, but I can't. My throat isn't responding and neither is my mouth. In my last few seconds I just sit there, waiting for it to all end. And all the while I see Heero sitting there, just watching me in horror. His face is so full of emotion and I just have to wonder what he's thinking.  
  
What would he say when the shock wore off?  
  
Would he admit he loves me too?  
  
Does Heero love me?  
  
I guess I'll never really know.  
  
That hurts.  
  
A lot.  
  
My vision completely fades out and for a single moment I'm aware of my existence. One last second. I'd cry if I could.  
  
Good bye Heero.  
  
*darkness*  
  
end of part 11  
  
Author's note: this is not the end of the story!! There is another part coming, so please don't kill me. I promise I won't leave you hanging for long. Honest.   



	12. Saturday Afternoon

Part 12  
Saturday Afternoon  
  
Author's note: the story is no longer in Duo's point of view, for obvious reasons. I also apologize for the change of tense ahead of time.  
  
Heero just sat there, watching as one of his best friends faded into thin air, leaving the room silent and empty. That was the first thing that hit him, the silence. How silent it would be now that Duo had disappeared…  
  
He shook his head and stood up quickly. Racing out of the room Heero paused only to grab his jacket from the hall closet and grab the key's to Wufei's motorcycle off the wall. Quatre and Trowa looked up from the actions of making weekend breakfast to see him race out of the house in a flash, starting up the motorcycle and peeling out of the driveway. Wufei raced into the kitchen a second later.   
  
"Where's Yuy going with my bike?"  
  
Trowa and Quatre both shook their heads, completely lost. They had no idea.  
  
The road scenery flew past Heero and he paid very little attentions. He watched the road and other cars, only to make sure he didn't crash and that he was going the right way. The rest of his mind was concentrated on one image, the image of Duo's smile.   
  
He didn't understand why he was in such a hurry but he had this feeling that if he didn't move quickly he'd lose Duo again, and this time for real. All he could think about was the smiling American boy who had piloted the gundam right next to him, helping him defeat OZ in the wars. But Duo was more then just a co-pilot, Duo was a friend. A friend who really cared about Heero, and Heero knew that he had precious few of those that he cared for in return.  
  
He honestly had no idea if his feelings went beyond friendship and at the moment didn't care. All he cared about was Duo; he'd worry about the relationship between them later when he made sure Duo was ok.   
  
And so he drove on, just driving as fast as he could to reach that one spot. He had no idea if his hunch was right but what could he lose other than a small tank of gas? He had to find Duo… people don't just disappear without leaving something behind.  
  
Heero pulled the motorcycle to a stop and stumbled off the bike. He paused as he saw the scene before him, frozen in shock as he took it all in.  
  
Before him lay Duo's wrecked jeep, wrapped around the tree just as before. But the wreck looked fresh, as if the car had just crashed a mere minute before hand. From where he stood on the shoulder of the road he could smell the fresh gas leaking from the engine, covering the ground. Smoke seeped out of the engine, warning of a fire which had started. But there was something even more important in the car.   
  
Duo.  
  
Through the window he could see Duo's body, pinned in the driver's seat as he lay there, dark blood flowing down the side of his head. Heero shook off the shock and moved forward, knowing the gas didn't have long before it caught fire. With all his strength he pulled on the car door, forcing it open with a loud whine of metal. Hurriedly he wrapped his arms around Duo and pulled him from the wreck.  
  
Duo didn't move at first, but as Heero began to pull him out he gave a sharp cry of pain. Heero glanced down at the car and saw that Duo's foot was trapped, locked against the breaks by the damaged metal. Setting Duo back on the seat he kicked at the metal, trying to make it come free.  
  
The smell of gas and smoke was now over-powering, filling the inside of the car and seeping into the air all around them. Heero worked as fast as he could, kicking and hitting at the metal until it finally gave way, but only enough for him to pull out Duo's foot, causing him to emit another cry of pain. Heero ignored his cried and grabbed the American pilot, hurriedly pulling him far from the wreck.  
  
He reached the side of the road, a good thirty feet from the wreck, and finally set Duo on the ground, gently. Heero took a few breaths to calm himself and slow the pumping adrenaline, then turned his attention to the other boy.  
  
Duo lay on the ground next to him, barely breathing, with his eyes shut tight. His entire face was twisted, showing exactly how much pain he was in. Inspecting his body further Heero found that the trapped foot had been broken, while the large gash on Duo's head really wasn't that deep. Both his arms were in pretty bad shape, one being broken and the other dotted with thousands of small particles of glass. Heero frowned deeply as he noticed the amount of blood flowing from those wounds. Quickly he moved to the motorcycle and grabbed the cell phone from his jacket, dialing up the hospital.  
  
"He… ero?"  
  
Heero turned back from the cell in surprise, to find Duo slowly blinking open his eyes. Dropping the phone to the ground, after telling the hospital attendant their location, he raced over to Duo's side.  
  
"Right here," he said quietly.  
  
Duo's eyes shot open in surprise and locked with Heero. He tried to move one of his arms but gave a small cry as pain shot through his body. Heero pressed his arm back to the ground, and instead reached forward to Duo's face, brushing the blood covered bangs from his eyes.  
  
"You… can touch me…?" Duo muttered in wonder.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"I…" Tears threatened at the sides of Duo's eyes and he didn't care. Instead he just ignored them as they pooled together and slipped down his cheeks. "I'm alive?"  
  
Heero couldn't help but give a small smile at that. "Yes. Pretty worse for wear, but alive."  
  
"I'm alive," Duo muttered quietly, still playing with the words. To him they almost didn't seem real. He couldn't believe this, it had to all be a dream, yet another torment before they let him die for real.  
  
But no, this was real. And if Duo doubted that for any second those doubts disappeared immediately with Heero's next action. Leaning down slowly Heero placed his lips against Duo's, kissing him softly and sweetly. They kissed each other for moments of silence, until they could hear the sounds of the ambulance in the distance, only then did Heero pull away.  
  
Duo licked his lips slowly, savoring the taste of Heero's mouth against his. "Heero?"  
  
"Baka." Heero said with a soft smile, yet a scolding tone to his voice. "Don't you ever leave me like that again."  
  
Duo smiled as the ambulance pulled up next to them and people started jumping out with equipment. "Never. I'll never leave you again Heero."  
  
**  
  
"Ouch!" Duo gave a yelp as he knocked the cast against the side of the shuttle seat. Behind him Heero immediately caught him as he lost hold of his crutch. Duo gave a small laugh as Heero helped him into the seat, handing him his lost crutch.  
  
"I feel like such a helpless child," Duo said with a frown. He'd been released from the hospital pretty quickly, not looking that bad, despite the fact that he felt like a mummy. The car wreck had indeed broken his foot, which was now encased in a thick cast with his pale toes sticking out at the end. His right arm was also in a cast, while his left arm was bandaged thickly from the glass cuts. Other than that there was just the large bandage over his right eye where he'd had that cut. Despite the excessive amount of bandages and the obvious pain Duo was still grinning like an idiot the whole way.  
  
"If you feel like that, maybe you shouldn't have left the hospital so early," Heero remarked, taking a seat next to him and helping him with his seatbelt.  
  
"Naw, I like having you take care of me."  
  
"Hn."  
  
"No, seriously Heero."   
  
Heero glanced over at his friend to find the impish grin gone from his face. He was completely serious as he glanced out the window, waiting for the shuttle to take off.   
  
"I need to do this," he said quietly.  
  
Heero's expression softened. "Are you going to tell me why you felt the sudden need to book a flight to L2?"  
  
Duo nodded slowly. "For Solo."  
  
Heero lifted an eyebrow. "That boy? The one who was in your room before?"  
  
"Yeah. He died a long time ago and it's a long story. But he raised me when I was living on the streets on L2, before I snuck aboard G's ship. Solo's the whole reason I named myself Duo, because I promised to live for both of us when he died."  
  
Heero watched the serious expression on his friend's face as he stared out the window. He'd never seen Duo look so serious and so sad. Reaching over he squeezed Duo's hand lightly, causing the American boy to jump out of his self-induced trance and look at him in surprise.  
  
"It's a long ride to L2," Heero said softly. "Tell me about him."  
  
Duo smiled lightly and nodded.  
  
**  
  
The buildings rose above them as giant crumbling sentinels, attesting to the small battles which had been waged endlessly on L2, as with the other colonies before the Eve Wars. Duo walked in front of Heero, leading them on at a slightly hurried pace, despite his crutch, as Heero walked slower behind him, taking in everything around him.   
  
The crumbling buildings. Rubble. Scrap metal. Broken glass. Evidence of the many people who had huddled here, homeless and forgotten in this small corner of the colony and galaxy. Who would have ever thought that someone with such a happy personality had come from such a horrible place? But then again, Heero reflected, maybe it was Duo's personality that enabled him to live through this hell. Quickening his steps he soon joined Duo and walked at his side.  
  
"Duo. You can't visit Solo's grave. On the colonies they dispose of the bodies and use them as fuel," he reminded his friend quietly.  
  
Duo shook his head. "Not his body. I probably broke dozens of health codes at the time but I refused to let his body be burned. I buried him when he died."  
  
Heero raised a confused eyebrow. "How? The dirt isn't low enough to bury a body."  
  
Duo stopped at a large pile of rubble from a crumbled warehouse. He flashed Heero a light smile. "The dirt wasn't deep enough, but the rubble and waste was. He's buried here." Duo handed Heero his crutch and struggled down to the ground until he was on his knees. Reaching into his shirt he pulled out the crucifix Heero had returned to him. They had found it on Duo's bed after returning from the hospital. Almost reverently he placed the crucifix beneath the rubble, near where Solo's body had been buried.  
  
"Keep this, old friend. And I hope that where ever you are now you are happy. Hopefully this will let you know how much you meant to me." Duo closed his eyes and for the first time since the Maxwell church had burnt down he muttered a prayer, to which ever god chose to listen. A prayer of protection for his friend.  
  
Gesturing toward Heero he took Heero's arm and pulled himself back up, brushing off his jeans. Without a word he nodded back toward the shuttle, indicating to Heero he was done. The two left, headed back toward the shuttle, ready for the ride back to their home on earth.  
  
They turned away too early to see. Had they stayed there a little longer they might have glimpsed the flash of red hair on the boy who appeared, leaning against that crumbled wall. Kneeling down he picked up the cross from beneath the rubble and smiled, clutching it to his chest.  
  
Strangely enough though, about a week later Heero woke up to find the crucifix lying neatly on his bedside table with a note attached. In messy handwriting was a single message.  
  
You keep this. It's your turn to take care of him now.   
-- Solo  
  
Heero smiled lightly and picked up the crucifix and fastened it around his neck.   
  
"Mission accepted," he murmured softly.  
  
From his place in the corner, even though Heero couldn't see him, Solo smiled. Then he disappeared, comforted in the fact that he was leaving his friend in good hands.  
  
The end.  



End file.
